Automakers eye bigger role for mobile via ridesharing, open-source software
Mobile?s role in the auto industry is already on track to hit new heights in 2016 as General Motors invests in Lyft and Toyota bypasses tech giants to embrace?s Ford?s solution for dashboard integration.
As mobile?s influence continues to grow, auto brands are looking beyond simply integrating mobile into their marketing plans and toward capitalizing on emerging opportunities such as on-demand ridesharing. These marketers are also recognizing the need to own the in-car experience, which involves a growing array of smartphone-driven services, and not ceding a portion of it to tech companies such as Apple and Google.
?Car manufacturers are no doubt seeing the scale of these emerging economies and want to have a foothold among the winners,? said Howie Schwartz, CEO of Crowded.com. ?I believe we're going to see more investments in the [ridesharing] space.
?Some will be homegrown technologies such as Ford's investment and others will be investments into other companies such as GMs investment into Lyft,? he said.
?Many of the rideshare companies already have requirements on the type of car they want their drivers to use, ranging from how many doors it has, to the year, make and model. It will be interesting to see if more General Motors cars will be used by Lyft drivers in the near future.?
On-demand autonomous cars
The mobile-focused news is racing out from automakers already this week.
GM recently made a $500 million investment in Lyft, part of the ride-hailing service?s new $1 billion round of funding. This is the first time a major automaker and ridesharing service have teamed up.
As part of the deal, GM will have a seat on Lyft?s board and the two companies will collaborate on making on-demand autonomous vehicle?s an everyday service.
GM is already hard at work on developing autonomous vehicles while Lyft is a leading developer of software for automating ride matching, routing and payments.
Connected, seamless experiences
Lyft and GM also plan to create a series of national rental hubs where Lyft drivers can rent short-term vehicles. The goal will be to unlock new ways for people to earn money without having to own a car.
The deal is the latest example of a new vision of the role of a car in consumers? lives ? driven by the growth of mobile ? with the focus on making the experience connected, seamless and autonomous.
In December, Ford Motor Co. said it is piloting an on-demand ridesharing service that uses smart ride-hailing technology and customized shuttles as part of a bigger initiative to develop innovative and disruptive ideas for diminishing traffic congestion and making public transit more convenient (see story).
GM?s investment in Lyft also comes as ridesharing competitor Sidecar shuts down, pointing to the growing competitiveness of the space.
In-car innovations
Automakers are also recognizing mobile?s central role to the in-car experience and, as a result, are questioning whether they need to partner with companies such as Google or Apple to enable car owners to sync their phones with their dashboard.
Toyota said yesterday that it is adopting Ford?s open-source smartphone app interface software called SmartDeviceLink. The software eliminates the need for Toyota to adopt software from either Google or Apple so that drivers can sync their phones with their dashboards.
The SmartDeviceLink on non-Ford vehicles enables smartphone apps to be easily accessed by drivers using voice recognition and dashboard controls.
Ford?s software, which is already available in the automaker?s own vehicles, is picking up steam, with QNX Software Systems and UIEvolution also adopting it while a handful of other car brands, such as PSA Peugeot Citroen, Honda, Subaru and Mazda are exploring it.
Automakers are likely to continue to explore how to leverage mobile inside the car as well as to innovate the consumer?s relationship with cars.
?With Uber and Lyft raising capital by the billions, they are no doubt looking to expand,? said Joe Rubin, co-founder and director of corporate development at Crowded.com ?We will see much more advertising in smaller cities and even outside of the cities than ever before.
?There will also be plenty of new players entering the market in various regions around the country and world,? he said. ?Conversely, it is not an easy nor inexpensive game to get into.
?As seen this past week, Sidecar, which raised $35 million and was the pioneer in the space, shut down their rideshare and delivery service. They will certainly not be the last rideshare company to face difficulties competing with Uber and Lyft.?