WASHINGTON — A high-tech battle is underway over who controls car dashboards.
Fumbling with a smartphone while driving is dangerous, distracting, and unlawful, and a growing number of car buyers expect to be able to operate certain apps and functions through the vehicle’s own systems.
Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto are being integrated into more and more new cars, but some automakers are concerned about the amount of personal data being sought by Apple and Google.
Toyota is currently the biggest CarPlay and Android Auto holdout, according to SlashGear. “We have looked at it, it’s something we’re interested in studying, but so far we haven’t been able to find terms that satisfy all involved,” says Doug Murtha of Scion, a division of Toyota.
A Volkswagen representative says the automaker felt Google and Apple wanted more data than the carmaker was willing to share.
Ford is a CarPlay and Android Auto partner, but is also counting on its own infotainment system to maintain some control over the dashboard. Ford developed a connectivity standard which lets third-party developers link their smartphone apps with in-car systems under an open-source license called SmartDeviceLink.
Since 1996, data has been available in cars ODB-II ports — under-dash ports which provide government-mandated access to engine status, speed and other functions.
