Automotive manufacturing group Stellantis and electronics manufacturer Foxconn have signed an MoU to form Mobile Drive, a 50/50 voting rights joint venture aimed at accelerating development timelines for in-vehicle user experiences, enabled by advanced consumer electronics, HMI interfaces and services.
According to the companies, the venture will combine Stellantis’s vehicle design and engineering capabilities with Foxconn’s developments in the software and hardware realms of smartphones and consumer electronics. This, they say, will position Mobile Drive at the forefront of global efforts to deliver new in-cabin information and entertainment capabilities that are fully connected.
“Today, there’s something that matters just as much as beautiful design or innovative technology – it’s how the features inside our vehicles improve the lives of our customers,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO at Stellantis. “Software is a strategic move for our industry and Stellantis intends to lead with Mobile Drive, a company that will enable the swift development of connectivity features and services that mark the next great evolution of our industry, just as electrification technology has.”
All development by Mobile Drive will be co-owned by Stellantis and Foxconn. The Netherlands-based joint venture will operate as an automotive supplier, competitively bidding to supply software solutions and related hardware for Stellantis and other interested auto makers.
“The vehicles of the future will be increasingly software driven and software defined. Customers today and in the future demand and expect ever-increasing software-driven and creative solutions to connect the drivers and passengers with the vehicle inside and out. Mobile Drive will meet and exceed these expectations with teams of designers and software and hardware engineers,” added Foxconn’s chairman, Young Liu. “This is a natural extension of Foxconn’s global leadership in the development and application of smart technologies to improve the quality of life of consumers around the world.”
The venture will focus on infotainment, telematics and cloud service platform development, with software innovations expected to include artificial-intelligence-based applications, 5G communication, upgraded over-the-air services, e-commerce opportunities and smart cockpit integrations.
Foxconn and Stellantis previously partnered in the development of the Airflow Vision design concept, which demonstrated the thinking of both companies around the next generation of premium transportation and user experience.
