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In-Car Apps Market size is expected to gain significant traction over 2021-2027 led by the increasing demand for safety, entertainment, and assistance-based services among car owners worldwide. Traditionally, engine capacity, horsepower, and acceleration were considered the key product differentiating factors between car brands. However recently, consumer focus is shifting towards automotive OS, software, and in-vehicle applications and these technologies are fast becoming the basis for competition among automakers.
Continuous technological advancements to meet the changing consumer preferences and expectations will propel the in-car apps industry forward. In-vehicle apps offer voice control, gesture recognition, and other features that allow drivers to maintain focus on the road. Evolved cruise control, autonomous emergency brake, blind spot detection and lane assistance are some of the other notable features of these apps. They also facilitate driver in parking assist, autonomous parking, pedestrian warning, traffic signal warning, car to car communications, and surround view systems.
The in-car music apps market demand is anticipated to grow substantially between 2021 and 2027. Consumer demand for high-quality music, podcasts, and other forms of audio entertainment on-the-go is continuously increasing. Carmakers are looking to integrate high-quality audio streaming platforms into vehicles. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are among the top applications that support music streaming for vehicles.
Europe in-car apps industry will witness a positive growth trend in the coming years, led by the presence of leading automakers and increasing consumer attraction towards innovative in-vehicle applications. Apps that offer navigation, weather update, music & entertainment, news update, and social networking features are experiencing demand in the region. These factors along with ongoing advances in connected vehicle technology will surely strengthen the regional outlook.
Apple Inc., Google Inc, Audi AG, AT&T Inc, Alcatel-Lucent, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Sierra Wireless, NXP Semiconductors, and Delphi Automotive LLP are some of the leading developers of in-vehicle applications. In-car apps market players are focusing on standardizing of product offerings and the use of open-source platforms to minimize application and firmware development costs.
Numerous innovative in-vehicle apps have been introduced in the market in recent years. For example:
In April 2021, General Motors had rolled out a new in-vehicle mapping service called Maps Plus for more than one million of its vehicles. In May 2021, Ford Motor Company had filed a patent for a new system that displays in-car advertisements through the infotainment system using a camera which detects billboards near the road.
Developments in the in-car apps industry will continue to gather pace as new consumer demand trends evolve and new technologies are constantly launched.
The automotive sector had faced significant disruption between 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Government measures to control the spread of the virus had forced most automakers to either shut down operations entirely or operate at a reduced capacity. The decline in vehicle production as well as consumer demand had directly affected the in-car apps industry forecast. Additionally, temporary suspension of connected vehicle testing activities in numerous regions had impacted in-vehicle app development.
However, ease of restrictions and return of automotive production to pre-pandemic levels is anticipated to create a promising outlook for the industry. Recovery of the automotive sector in the forthcoming years will augment in-car apps market trends.