The new company will combine Stellantis’ global vehicle design and engineering experience with Foxconn’s experience in consumer electronics. This combination will position Mobile Drive at the forefront of global efforts to deliver new infotainment and connected capabilities, both inside and outside the vehicle.
The primary aim of the deal is to accelerate development timelines and develop new in-vehicle experiences enabled by advanced consumer electronics, HMI, and services. All development by Mobile Drive will be co-owned by the two manufacturers and be based in The Netherlands. Likewise, it will operate as a tier-one automotive supplier, competitively bidding to supply software solutions and related hardware.
While the vehicle brands under the Stellantis name (including Chrysler, Fiat, and Peugeot) will adopt Mobile Drive’s systems, Stellantis and Foxconn did confirm that they would outsource them to any interested OEMs.
Mobile Drive will focus on infotainment, telematics, and cloud service platform development. This focus will allow for features such as AI based applications (such as a virtual personal assistant), 5G communication, upgraded over-the-air services, e-commerce opportunities, and smart cockpit integrations to be supplied to new vehicles from OEMs around the world.
There is no word from either firm on when Mobile Drive technologies are set to launch, or which vehicles will utilize them first.
