Porsche to use Google apps in strategy shift

BERLIN — Porsche is considering fully integrating Google software into the cockpits of its vehicles, a source close to the company said, marking a shift in strategy for the newly listed automaker. increase.

The deal, which is being considered exclusively for the Porsche brand and not for the Volkswagen Group, will allow Porsche customers to access Google applications such as Google Maps and Google Assistant without connecting to an Android phone.

Spokespeople for Porsche and Google were not immediately available for comment.

A spokesman for VW’s software division Cariad declined to comment.

Porsche’s chief financial officer, Lutz Meschke, said in a conference call in October last year that the company will work with Google, Apple, Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba in China after finishing cooperation with VW’s Cariad division on software research and development. He said they are in close contact.

Porsche has previously been reluctant to use Google software because Google has asked it to share too much data. manager magazinefirst reported the talks.

As software becomes an integral part of car design, technology companies from Google to Apple to Amazon are in a race to control the dashboards of automakers.

Automakers such as General Motors, Renault, Nissan, and Ford have incorporated Google technology into their vehicles through the Google Automotive Services (GAS) package, which provides features such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, and other applications. increase.

But some automakers are allowing tech giants unrestricted access to data generated by connected cars, or allowing them to replace the automaker’s branding with their own on dashboard displays. I am very careful.

BMW, for example, has “definitely not taken the path” of integrating GAS into its vehicles, a spokesperson said Thursday, adding that “maintaining the customer interface is important for the company.”

Porsche, which overtook its former parent company as Europe’s most valuable automaker after listing on the stock exchange last September, reported on Thursday that vehicle deliveries for 2022 will increase by 3%.