Three years in the past, Stellantis introduced it was pairing up with Amazon to create in-car software program that may deliver a slew of related services and products to autos by 2024 as a part of the automaker’s broader plan to generate $22.5 billion yearly from software program.
That by no means occurred. And now, the partnership is “winding down,” Reuters reported. The article additionally reported that Amazon workers engaged on the venture had been reassigned or left the corporate, in line with unnamed sources.
Stellantis confirmed the Reuters report and instructed TechCrunch it could be pivoting to an Android-based system.
“Amazon stays a beneficial associate for Stellantis, and the businesses proceed to work collectively on a spread of initiatives,” the automaker stated in an announcement. As an illustration, Stellantis will proceed to make use of Amazon Internet Providers as its most popular cloud supplier for automobile platforms.
Stellantis laid out an formidable plan in December 2021 to have 34 million related automobiles on the street by 2030. The pitch was that Stellantis can be setting itself up for a brand new stream of income past constructing and promoting autos.
Stellantis struck partnerships with BMW, Foxconn, Waymo, and Amazon to achieve that concentrate on.
The plan to make use of in-car software program to promote passengers and drivers merchandise and subscriptions concerned three elements.
It began with an underlying electrical and software program structure system that Stellantis dubbed STLA Mind. On high of the Mind, Stellantis would add a “STLA SmartCockpit,” a platform to ship purposes to the driving force, comparable to navigation, voice help, an e-commerce market, and fee companies, in addition to purposes that may ship customized in-vehicle experiences for the driving force and passengers. A 3rd piece concerned an automatic driving platform known as “AutoDrive,” developed with BMW.
Amazon was tapped to assist Stellantis with the STLA SmartCockpit, particularly with know-how that may adapt to prospects’ behaviors and pursuits after which ship customized companies.
Stellantis instructed TechCrunch it’s sticking with its good cockpit platform. Now, it appears Google’s Android-based system, which is utilized by quite a few automakers, is headed to this future software program platform.