A technological revolution is about to take place within the automotive industry and Apple could be leading the charge. ABI Research published a report on Wednesday predicting that over 24 million cars will be fitted with Apple’s CarPlay by 2019. When Apple launched CarPlay earlier this year, only select Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo models were compatible with the software, but dozens of other manufacturers have signed on to include CarPlay functionality in the future, including Ford, BMW, Audi, Toyota and Nissan.
The only real threat to Apple’s takeover of the industry is the even more recently revealed Android Auto, Google’s take on the connected dashboard. Android Auto is in an earlier stage of development than CarPlay, but Google says that 40 car makers are already backing the initiative and the first official announcements should begin to trickle out next year.
Regardless of whether CarPlay or Android Auto captures the largest audience, ABI Research senior analyst Filomena Berardi believes that adoption of intelligent dashboard interfaces will increase rapidly as a result of Google and Apple stepping in to the field.
“Many believe Apple is creating further fragmentations and a ripple effect in the industry by not being open,” said Berardi. “However, love it or hate it, with Apple on the scene it certainly draws greater attention to in-car apps and now with the Android Auto standard on the scene both will certainly drive adoption of in-car apps.”
