Google, Volvo to Show Off Android Integration in Connected Car

Cars and Drivers

Published: May 15, 2017 12:25 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:00 pm

The Google division of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) hosts its annual developer conference beginning Wednesday, and the company plans to show off new apps for its Android operating system developed through its partnership with Volvo, the Swedish carmaker now owned by China’s Geely.

Android Auto has added features including control of the car’s air conditioning, windows, sunroof, and more to the navigation, infotainment and mapping capabilities it already had. According to post on Google’s blog, Volvo and Audi, a division of Volkswagen, will begin Monday to build Android into their next generation of cars.

In addition to a demonstration of the features incorporated in Volvo cars, Audi will show off its Q8 concept at the conference and demonstrate how Google Assistant, the company’s voice-control software, will work with its cars. The Audi Q8, a luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV), appeared in camouflage at Germany’s Nürburgring track last month and is expected to go on sale next year.

The agreement between Google and Volvo will result in new Volvo models within two years that come equipped with the technology. According to a report at Automotive News, the features of the apps the two companies can be developed by either Google, Volvo or even a third party and made available without connecting to a smartphone, a requirement for both Android Auto and Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) CarPlay.

Current Volvo cars support both Android Auto and CarPlay, and a Volvo spokesperson said that CarPlay will be supported on the new models.

Earlier this year, Google showed off its Android infotainment system developed with Panasonic and Qualcomm and included as part of Fiat Chrysler’s Uconnect infotainment offering.