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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rethinking urban traffic congestion to put people first
    August 28, 2015
    Following the publication of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute/Inrix report on urban traffic congestion in the US, Robert Puentes, senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program , says that while the focus and themes of the report are largely the same as previous years, big changes are underway in how we study, think about, and address metropolitan traffic congestion. This new, modern approach calls into question whether the endless pursuit of congestion relief makes sense a
  • TRL: In-vehicle tech is developing – but the driver isn’t
    August 19, 2019
    The evidence base for distracted driving has failed to keep up with technological developments, argue TRL’s Neale Kinnear and Paul Jackson. New research is urgently needed
  • Uber takes on European critics
    July 13, 2015
    Uber's director of public policy for Europe, Simon Hampton, has suggested that he sees a chance at winning over governments pursuing legal action against the company. “If you're in a city Uber hasn't come to yet, then creating a group of people to say they want Uber and to put pressure on local politicians - that's hard," Hampton said at a panel discussion in the European Parliament, reports euractiv.com. Uber has faced legal inquiries in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Portugal ov
  • US traffic fatalities fall in 2014, but early estimates show 2015 trending higher
    December 22, 2015
    The US saw a slight decline in traffic deaths during 2014, according to the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, an increase in estimated fatalities during the first six months of this year reveals a need to reinvigorate the fight against deadly behaviour on America's roads, NHSA says.