Digital technology is rapidly growing and influencing the industry across all industry segments. Digitalization has led to large-scale innovation across various industry sectors. Business leaders are trying to innovate to stay ahead. The 200 year old Automobile industry is grappling to work along with digital trends and provide optimum solutions to all. The automotive infotainment is one such sector of the automobile industry which is in-line to the latest digital trends. The white-paper discusses the various aspects of automotive infotainment along with the growing trends that drive the market. Various challenges faced during implementation of the same are also discussed in the study.

Automotive Infotainment or In-car entertainment or in-vehicle infotainment is a collection of hardware and software systems that provides entertainment audio or video, in automobiles. Infotainment systems are a standard in cars. Almost a century ago, i.e. in the 1930s, the first car radio was introduced which was the source of in-car entertainment for the next two decades. In the 1950s a German-based company Blaupunkt introduced the first AM and FM based systems for cars. Infotainment evolved from record players, 8 track cassette tapes (1960), compact cassette tapes (1970), CD’s (1990) to the current music systems.

In the year of 2000, the automotive infotainment grew to include advanced GPS, Bluetooth capabilities and various auxiliary inputs. In the year of 2010, Android Auto and Car Play were introduced in the market. The current infotainment systems are equipped with the touchscreen, Bluetooth, auxiliary connectors and wireless connections at some points. The current standard for infotainment ideally contains, a touchscreen display, Bluetooth connectivity, auxiliary inputs, and hands free calling along with music controls with the help of voice control. Furthermore, controls of music and feature activations placed on steering wheels are additional part of the infotainment system.

Though infotainment evolved as a need of users it has slowly grown to become an integral part of an automobile system. In the 1990’s having a music system was an optional feature, available at a defined value. A decade or so later, it became an additional feature that was in-built by default and soon there were various options available to select from. Today a car has many models and based on the configurations the infotainment system also changes. From screen size to reverse cameras, a buyer has lots of options to select from.

Users connect their cell phones, MP3 Players, personal navigation devices (PDN) that provide entertainment like music, videos and photos. This has led to consumer becoming intuitive and demanding seamless connection between portable consumer electronic device and mobile phones of users. Along with access to in-built, hands free telephony system. Furthermore, there is an increased demand for technological compatible infotainment systems. For example, when amazon music was launched it was compatible to the music systems and was required to just connect via Bluetooth.

Challenges faced by Automotive Infotainment

We have discussed some challenges faced by the automotive infotainment system in this section.

Incidents of accidents because of use of mobile phones while driving was a major concern and soon became a safety issue. This led to many countries banning use of mobile devices while driving. Automotive infotainment is helping in resolving this issue by providing Hands-free connection through Bluetooth devices. Drivers can simply use voice-commands to make a call and converse via the infotainment systems that support hands-free communications.

The competition in automobile industry is tough and companies need to work to identify ways to stay ahead. Though infotainment is a different setup, it is working in collaboration with the automobile companies. Most of the automobiles come with pre-built infotainment systems that are ready-to-use.

Facts and Future of the Automotive Infotainment

Automobile connectivity is getting popular among users as it gaining a foothold in the market. We use the automotive infotainment system for listening to music, taking calls, getting directions with the help of GPS and watching videos and movies. In the luxury car segments, often a video screen is present on the backside of the front seats, enabling the person sitting in the back to watch videos. Alternatively, these screens are often hanging from the roof for a larger audience. Discussing some industry trends to understand the market below:

Urbanization and the growing population across various cities has led to growth in the market. Currently 50% of the living population is in urban cities and have a set standard of living to maintain. Furthermore, they are more knowledge in terms of digital technologies and are comfortable using it for daily living, work, and trade and communicate. The future of automotive industry is expected to be dominated by urban mobility and connectivity over a range of digital channels of services. Driver can listen to music and have live traffic updates on the display screen to reduce the commute time.

Automotive infotainment is at its very initial days. With every new technology in entertainment or automobile it will have to adapt to the changes. Soon depending on your mood or the weather outside, your car’s music system would automatically play songs from your playlist. This might be an uncomfortable idea for some but it is possible. The future comprises connected travelers, Autonomous driving and digitizing the enterprise and ecosystem.

Vehicles today are sophisticated technology driven devices that is slowly growing as more than a travelling channel. Infotainment devices are the key to maintain two-way connection between a driver and the car. To support the technology demands Original Equipment Managers (OEMs) are embracing open source systems and mobile friendly platforms. Thus, meeting the ever-growing demands of the new generation connected travelers. Autonomous driving that is driver less car is a set of technological equipment’s controlled by algorithms for smooth functioning. These automobiles would reinvent the transport system leading to better transport systems along with taking care of environmental issues. Digitization will grow and further enhance the user experience by improving the efficiencies, reduced costs and enhanced collaboration for enhanced user experience.

Market overview

Automotive infotainment market is expected to grow rapidly due to various factors. Research indicates that 70% of automobile provider will be offering hands-free interface allowing drivers to make calls and manage their playlist with voice or controls mounted on steering wheels. Industry experts predict growth in usage for navigation purposes. GPRS technology is slowly growing in popularity and garnering the required attention by users. Once the cost of integration of various systems is lowered the overall cost of automobile would also reduce. The automobile market is expected to grow and reach the value of almost 20 million units per year.