Three years ago, Stellantis announced that it would pair with Amazon to create in-vehicle software that brings a large amount of connected products and services to the vehicle by 2024, in order to generate $22.5 billion a year from the software, as part of the automaker’s broader plan.
It never happened. And now the partnership is “at an end,” Reuters reported. The article reports that Amazon staff working on the project have relocated or left the company, according to an unnamed source.
Stellantis confirmed the Reuters report and told TechCrunch it would pivot to an Android-based system.
“Amazon is a valuable partner for Stellantis, and businesses continue to cooperate with a variety of initiatives,” the automaker said in a statement. For example, Stellantis will continue to use Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider for its vehicle platform. Amazon’s Alexa will continue to be available on Stellantis vehicles as well.
Stellantis had an ambitious plan in December 2021 to have 34 million connected vehicles on the road by 2030. The pitch was that Stellantis would stand up for a new revenue stream that went beyond building and selling vehicles.
Stellantis has hit its target by attacking partnerships with BMW, Foxconn, Waymo and Amazon.
The plan to use in-car software to sell passenger and driver products and subscriptions included three components.
It started with the underlying electrical and software architecture system called Stellantis, known as STLA Brain. On top of the brain, Stellantis will add STLA SmartCockpit, a platform that provides applications to drivers, including navigation, voice assistance, the e-commerce market, and payment services, and an application that will provide a personalized vihall experience for drivers and passengers. The third piece included a self-driving platform known as “AutoDrive” developed by BMW.
Amazon has been tapped to help Stellantis with STLA SmartCockpit, particularly with technology that adapts to customer behavior and interests and provides personalized services.
Stellantis told TechCrunch that it is sticking to the smart cockpit platform. Google’s Android-based systems currently used by numerous car manufacturers seem to be heading towards this future software platform.
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