Mercedes CEO says ‘No’ to Apple but ‘Yes’ to Google with Ola Källenius making a bold statement on CarPlay
Apple carved out a systematic plan over a period of four years to replace Android Auto in cars with its CarPlay software and not to forget its ambitious idea of manufacturing the Apple Car. So, the idea was simple- sell CarPlay to traditional car manufacturers while flaunting the platform on its own Apple car. Now, with Apple abandoning the idea of the Apple car, the only option is to target the dashboard (or screens) of modern cars with CarPlay. With large smart screens gaining prominence inside luxury cars, car brands can only partner with reliable software makers like Google, Apple and others, even Samsung!
In a recent interview to The Verge, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius categorically said “No” to Apple. The reason? Mercedes is looking for a “holistic software architecture” - something that Google may provide better. CEO Ola Källenius makes a clear statement that he will not allow the screens of Mercedes cars to be taken over by Apple. In other words, Mercedes doesn't want to risk getting trapped inside the walled Apple ecosystem where Apple only gets to decide what the screens inside cars show and do.
“I fundamentally believe that that holistic customer experience is best done by us, and we will serve you,” Mercedes Ola Källeniushe told The Verge during the interview.
Källenius stressed that Mercedes' own engineers would be actively working on screens inside the cars they sell. It's about delivering an in-car experience which Mercedes would never want to give up to another company. He even mentioned that Mercedes is working with Apple's big rival- Google in coming with a new navigation system that is powered by Google Maps. Google has no objections in allowing Mercedes engineers to decide on how the actual in-car experience plays out; thus, the Mercedes team would be “heavily involved in the process”.
As per the report, Källenius is okay to include “phone-mirroring services” in cars and Mercedes will not exclude the feature altogether like General Motors. For those
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