Ford’s cross-town rival General Motors announced that it would be ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its all-electric vehicles way back in April 2023, a decision that instantly drew its fair share of criticism. Despite that, GM continues to defend that particular decision, and even somewhat gloated about it last year, with Senior Vice President of Software and Services Product Management, Program Management and Design, Baris Cetinok, claiming that “we’re not a monitor company.” Now, an aftermarket kit designed to allow the use of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in GM EVs that don’t support them has been abruptly discontinued, too.
According to GM Authority, White Automotive recently discontinued its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto upgrade kit that enabled GM EV owners to continue using that software. The company didn’t provide a specific reason for this decision, but did claim that it stems from “a variety of factors.” However, the kit had to be installed by a dealer, given how complex that process apparently was, and White Automotive stated that a dealer would have to be “up to the task of not only meticulously upgrading your EV, but also one that will continue to provide stellar service after the fact.”
While GM EV owners have few options in terms of ways they can continue to use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto moving forward, that isn’t the case with Ford customers. In fact, Ford CEO Jim Farley previously confirmed that The Blue Oval will continue to offer that compatibility for the foreseeable future, admitting that “we kind of lost that battle 10 years ago. So like get real with it because you’re not going to make a ton of money on content inside the vehicle.”
A recent Mobility Consumer Pulse survey from McKinsey & Co also found that among 30,000 consumers in 15 countries, 30 percent of EV shoppers and 35 percent of ICE owners won’t buy a car that isn’t compatible with smartphone applications like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In the U.S., those numbers were similar at 25 percent of EV buyers and 38 percent of ICE shoppers.
Comments
As a GM owner for many years now (only new GMs since the 1990’s), the action to kill Apple CarPlay has me thinking:
“Have you driven a Ford lately?”
I don’t know about Apple but the implementation of Android in Ford is a mess. If you let it take over your Sync good luck trying to find out how to use the the Ford settings and features again while it’s running.
I bet Apple hates it because it’s the one place they don’t control the hardware.