Hyundai Motor is joining hands with Apple in the U.S. to compete in the smart car market.
According to industry sources on February 1, Hyundai Motor has used Apple CarPlay in the 2017 Elantra, which was released on January 26 in the U.S. and called Avante in Korea, for the first time. The company is also considering installing Apple CarPlay in the domestic model.
CarPlay is the operation system that connects smartphone apps to the vehicle's infotainment system. It allows iPhone users to easily talk on the phone, send text messages and stream music while driving. With CarPlay, Siri provides drivers an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands that are easily and directly accessed through the steering wheel's voice button. This system is categorized as the basic technology for the smart car era. Various foreign car models are already equipped with Apple CarPlay.
The most striking feature is that the 2017 Elantra features both Apple CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto. It is also the first time for Hyundai Motor to release a new car model that has two different systems at the same time. There are many automakers that adopt either Google or Apple system in their car models. However, only a very small minority of brands have developed cars that can use two systems at the same time.
Previously, Hyundai Motor became the first carmaker to offer Google's Android Auto system in its Sonata model for North American markets in May last year.
In addition, the company plans to invest 2 trillion won (US$1.66 billion) by 2018 to develop smart car that integrates autonomous driving and latest IT technologies.