Mobile Drive Joins Foxconn, Stellantis In-Cabin Digital Tech

Automaker group Stellantis has teamed up in a joint venture with electronics giant Foxconn to deliver next generation in-cabin digital user experience technologies.

The non-binding memorandum of understanding to creates the new entity, Mobile Drive, a 50/50 voting rights JV hoping to accelerate software development timelines, create new HMI interfaces and services.

The new entity expects to combine the auto group’s global vehicle design and engineering expertise with Foxconn’s global development in the rapidly changing software and hardware realms of smartphones and consumer electronics.

The Netherlands-based JV will operate as an automotive supplier and will be bidding to supply software solutions and related hardware to all interested automakers.

It will focus on infotainment, telematics and cloud service platform development with software innovations expected to include artificial intelligence-based applications, 5G communication, upgraded over-the-air services, e-commerce opportunities and smart cockpit integrations.

In an online presentation, Stellantis’ chief software officer, Yves Bonnefont, outlined the sort of UX innovations the new company is expected to bring to consumers.

He said the customer-driven – not technology-pushed – approach will see in-cabin experiences that can be completely updatable while leveraging smart data and artificial intelligence.

He pointed to Foxconn and Stellantis previously partnering in the development of the on-board infotainment system first seen in the Airflow Vision design concept, displayed at CES 2020.

The concept integrated multiple screens for different people in the car, able to display a variety of different information depending on that passenger’s interests while not being visible to other occupants.

Screens also could be grouped together with a nod to the future possibilities of advancing levels of automated driving in which occupants can expand their digital experiences when not required to operate the vehicle.

“Today, there’s something that matters just as much as beautiful design or innovative technology,” says Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “It’s how the features inside our vehicles improve the lives of our customers.

Tavares says Stellantis intends to lead with Mobile Drive, “a company that will enable the swift development of connectivity features and services that mark the next great evolution of our industry.”