Skip to main content

App integration ‘commonplace within five years’

A new report by Juniper Research on the telematics sector has found that the number of in-vehicle apps in use is expected to reach 269 million by 2018, representing a more than fivefold increase on 2013’s figure. According to the report, Connected Cars: Consumer & Commercial Telematics and Infotainment 2014-2018, growth will be fuelled by solutions such as Apple’s CarPlay, which will promote in-vehicle apps to the mainstream. It also argues that app integration will be facilitated as standardised approac
July 2, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A new report by 7194 Juniper Research on the Telematics sector has found that the number of in-vehicle apps in use is expected to reach 269 million by 2018, representing a more than fivefold increase on 2013’s figure.

According to the report, Connected Cars: Consumer & Commercial Telematics and Infotainment 2014-2018, growth will be fuelled by solutions such as Apple’s CarPlay, which will promote in-vehicle apps to the mainstream. It also argues that app integration will be facilitated as standardised approaches like MirrorLink are adopted this year by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), content providers and automotive entertainment specialists.

“By 2018 most new vehicles will come with integrated apps as standard,” says the report’s author, Anthony Cox. “After-market app integration will also be commonplace, as head-unit manufacturers launch increasingly sophisticated devices”.  However, he observed that as with smartphone apps, only a small proportion will create revenues for their creators, even though they will enhance the driving experience.

The report found that although the integration of apps into the vehicle will have a profound effect on traditional monetisation models, potentially denting revenues, two factors will favour embedded Telematics. Firstly, regulatory initiatives such as the eCall driver safety project and Brazil’s regulation Contran 245 governing stolen vehicles, will guarantee the take-up of embedded Telematics in several key geographical regions.

Secondly, it argued that the ability to split the Telematics “bill” pioneered by major operators, systems integrators and the 2246 GSMA, will allow for granular billing of infotainment and other services. This will particularly be the case as streaming and other advanced services become available in developed markets through LTE adoption.

Nevertheless, the report claims that widespread smartphone tethering and in-vehicle apps would continue to drive down the price of vehicle manufacturers’ own embedded Telematics infotainment services.

Related Content

  • NavFusion provides map updates via a smart phone app
    November 28, 2013
    A new app that connects a vehicle’s systems to the internet opens up a range of possibilities as Jon Masters discovers. Sometimes the most straightforward or simple of ideas can be the most significant. So it seems with the latest development from Hungarian navigation software supplier NNG. The company’s software features in-vehicle infotainment systems and has launched NavFusion – which connects a vehicles’ sat nav programs to smartphones. NavFusion is being incorporated into NNG’s iGO navigation s
  • Virtual cockpit in cars ‘edges closer to reality’
    September 3, 2015
    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Rise of Virtual Cockpits in Cars finds that the instrument cluster (IC) market in North America and Europe is expected to clock a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.2 percent from 2014 to 2021, with digital IC expected to reach a CAGR of approx. 26 percent by 2021. While the virtual cockpit will be limited to premium-segment vehicles, fully digital clusters that will be standard in about 20 percent of cars will also be offered as an option on medium-segment cars.
  • Around 420 million connected cars expected on the road in 2018
    May 9, 2014
    According to French think tank IDATE, there will be 420 million connected cars on the road by 2018, compared to 45 million in 2013, an annual growth of 57 per cent. IDATE attributes the development of the market to European safety regulations and manufacturers looking to identify new sources of revenue.
  • Global commercial telematics market ‘worth US$47.58 billion by 2020’
    September 9, 2015
    According to research company MarketsandMarkets, the market for commercial telematics is expected to grow from US$20.02 billion in 2015 to US$47.58 billion by 2020. In terms of regions, Europe is expected to be the largest market in terms of market size, while Middle East & Africa and Asia-Pacific (APAC) are expected to experience an increase in market traction, during the forecast period. Latin America is expected to experience a high growth rate and adoption trend in this market.