Carmakers will need to ensure their vehicles can connect to mobile devices and the internet if they are to survive, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche said on Monday.
His comments came after Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz said it would make cars compatible with new software developed by Apple, known as CarPlay.
Daimler will also be offering compatibility to Android-based devices, the company added.
“Virtually no product, includ¬ing the automobile, is purchased or used in a vacuum,” Zetsche said at a Daimler event in Geneva, on the eve of the city’s motor show.
“We all know that the iPod for example, was not just a game changer based solely on design or technology.
It is also about the convenient connection to iTunes,” Zetsche said, adding that “customers are buying the total package.”
Mercedes unveiled a new ser¬vice brand “Mercedes me” which allows clients to gain access to a raft of mobility services including its car-sharing business car2go, or myTaxi.
It also allows people to find out where their car is parked or to book a service appointment using their mobile phone.
The offering is part of a raft of initiatives from carmakers aimed at using software to make their ve¬hicles more appealing to drivers.
Ola Kaellenius, Mercedes-Benz board member responsible for sales and marketing, said Daimler wanted to get away from the idea that service only meant “mainte¬nance.” Reuters
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