Fiat Chrysler picks Google, Samsung for globally connected car system

Fiat Chrysler stated on Tuesday it will use technology from Alphabet Inc’s Google and Samsung to connect all its automobiles by 2022, giving music and video and facilitating future car-sharing and self-driving capabilities.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) will utilize Google’s Android operating system worldwide in place of a mixture of software that differs by region, a spokesman stated. The automaker will also use a cloud-based digital platform from Samsung Electronics’s Harman unit.

Unlike its competitors General Motors and Ford Motor, FCA has spent basically nothing on developing self-driving vehicle technology. This saves the company some huge amounts of money but makes it reliant on outside parties to provide technology and systems.

FCA stated it will release the new capabilities in the second half of this year. The company stated the system will help owners “by predicting maintenance needs, locating fuel and charging stations, receiving traffic prompts and restaurant offers and providing live customer-care assistance at the push of the button.”