[ad_1]
Article content
The inside of a Pacifica minivan will soon look like an electronics playground filled with multiple screens, digital displays and individual entertainment system options as a result of a joint venture agreement announced Tuesday between Stellantis and Foxconn.
The automaker and Taiwanese-based Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form Mobile Drive in order to accelerate the development and deployment of new in-car technology.
“Today there’s something that matters just as much as beautiful design or innovative technology, it’s how the features inside our vehicles improve the lives of our customers,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in a teleconference Tuesday.
“Software is a strategic move for our industry and Stellantis intends to lead with Mobile Drive, a company that will enable the swift development of connectivity features and services that mark the next great evolution of our industry.”
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Mobile Drive will focus on infotainment, telematics and cloud service platform development, artificial intelligence, 5G communication, upgradable services, e-commerce and smart cockpit integrations.
“The vehicles of the future will be increasingly software driven and software defined,” said Foxconn chair Young Liu, whose company makes Apple’s iPhones.
The joint venture will be set up in the Netherlands and will operate as Tier One supplier. It will also bid on contracts to supply other automakers.
Tavares said the decision on when the new technology would be released isn’t set yet, but announcements will be made by each of the company’s brands.
However, Stellantis chief software officer Yves Bonnefont made it clear changes are coming relatively soon.
Bonnefont said the new partnership has already identified the projects it’s targeting.
“Our vision is we want to move fast and get the best knowledge (from Foxconn) incorporated into what we do,” Bonnefont said.
“We’ll start immediately with our team structure and we’ve been working together several months so we’re ready to hit the ground running.”
Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy welcomed the announcement as a strengthening of Stellantis’s position in the area most valued by consumers.
“When people look in the cockpit now, they’re looking for more than whether it just has cruise control and air conditioning,” Cassidy said.
“Now it’s can the kids get on the internet and the endless entertainment options.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Better tech and different ideas are behind this partnership. I see it as a real good thing.”
Cassidy added with Windsor Assembly getting a new vehicle to compliment the Pacifica minivan, the announcement is timely.
“The Pacifica is a great fit for all this stuff,” Cassidy said.
“If they can keep the cost down and keep offering the level of infotainment and interactions the company is talking about, it will takes us to the next level versus our competition.”
Canadian Association of Mold Makers/Automate Canada president Jeanine Lassaline-Berglund said Tuesday’s announcement is a continuation of the evolution of in-car technology from the days when On Star was introduced.
“It’s natural seeing the car act like a smartphone,” Lassaline-Berglund said.
“We’re seeing this in other industries. Look at how smart refrigerators can tell you what’s inside and what’s on sale on your grocery list.
“Why not the car?”
Lassaline-Berglund added if Stellantis and Foxconn are successful, cutting edge technology is a product that can shift market share.
Younger buyers are a particularly attractive market.
“Young buyers are poised to be early adapters,” Lassaline-Berglund said.
“If Stellantis offers this in smaller, affordable vehicles, that single-handedly can win a large market share.”
Lassaline-Berglund said there are also potential business opportunities for southern Ontario’s supply chain both in building components and automation and particularly in the after sales service market.
“I think it opens a whole new area in manufacturing,” Lassaline-Berglund said.
“We know to take our car to the garage for mechanical problems, but where do we go when our news feed isn’t working?”
dwaddell@postmedia.com
twitter.com/winstarwaddell
[ad_2]
Source link
