Three years ago, Stellantis announced it was pairing up with Amazon to create in-car software that would bring a slew of connected products and services to vehicles by 2024 as part of the automaker’s broader plan to generate $22.5 billion annually from software.
That never happened. And now the partnership is “winding down,” Reuters reported. The article also reported that Amazon staff working on the project had been reassigned or left the company, according to unnamed sources.
Stellantis confirmed the Reuters report and told TechCrunch it would be pivoting to an Android-based system.
“Amazon remains a valuable partner for Stellantis, and the companies continue to work together on a range of initiatives,” the automaker said in a statement. For instance, Stellantis will continue to use Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider for vehicle platforms. Amazon’s Alexa will also continue to be available in Stellantis vehicles.
Stellantis laid out an ambitious plan in December 2021 to have 34 million connected cars on the road by 2030. The pitch was that Stellantis would be setting itself up for a new stream of revenue beyond building and selling vehicles.
Stellantis struck partnerships with BMW, Foxconn, Waymo, and Amazon to reach that target.
The plan to use in-car software to sell passengers and drivers products and subscriptions involved three components.
It started with an underlying electrical and software architecture system that Stellantis dubbed STLA Brain. On top of the Brain, Stellantis would add a “STLA SmartCockpit,” a platform to deliver applications to the driver, such as navigation, voice assistance, an e-commerce marketplace, and payment services, as well as applications that would deliver personalized in-vehicle experiences for the driver and passengers. A third piece involved an automated driving platform called “AutoDrive,” developed with BMW.
Amazon was tapped to help Stellantis with the STLA SmartCockpit, specifically with technology that would adapt to customers’ behaviors and interests and then deliver personalized services.
Stellantis told TechCrunch it is sticking with its smart cockpit platform. Now it seems Google’s Android-based system, which is used by numerous automakers, is headed to this future software platform.
