Regarding CarPlay Ultra, car maker says, “Don't try to invade our own systems.”
Tim Hardwick from MacRumors reporting from a paywalled Financial Times report:
Apple is facing mounting resistance from automakers over CarPlay Ultra, the next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles that was announced last month.
A new (paywalled) Financial Times report claims several major brands are walking back their earlier commitments to support the upgraded dashboard software. German luxury manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Audi have both distanced themselves from the system, along with Volvo, Polestar, and Renault.
It's a major retreat from Apple's 2022 announcement, which originally named 14 automakers as future CarPlay Ultra partners, including all of those mentioned above.
CarPlay Ultra goes far beyond traditional CarPlay by taking control of the entire dashboard experience. The system displays vehicle information like temperature, speed, and fuel levels alongside iPhone apps, creating what Apple calls "a unified and consistent experience across all the driver's screens."
Mercedes-Benz had previously expressed reluctance to cede dashboard control to Apple. Now other premium brands are following suit, citing concerns about maintaining their own software experiences and revenue streams from in-car services. From the report:
Some companies have found Apple's foray into driver screens as over-reach. One executive at Renault, which is developing a vehicle mainly controlled by software with Google and Qualcomm, said the French carmaker told Apple: "Don't try to invade our own systems."
But it begs the question for car manufacturers:
Why go through a redundant process and work with a second UI that is less reliable?
The car manufacturer already has to make a UI with all of its features for their vehicles, so why try to reproduce that same experience with CarPlay 2 that requires phone projection? Phone projection or tethering (call it what you want) will always have a less reliable connection than the car’s built-in software. It just seems like a waste of resources for automakers in an already low-margin industry, not to mention a safety concern if an entire dash filled with CarPlay 2 projection all of a sudden disconnects from your phone because of some bug. […]
With Apple’s huge stance on privacy, there has to be some friction with how deeply CarPlay 2 integrates into a manufacturer’s system, and how much of that data Apple doesn’t want to be made available for sale.
There’s a tug of war between automakers and Apple. If something goes awry, who is to blame for an accident? Likewise, if data is being sold without people knowing about it, who is to blame? Neither party wants to bear the brunt of bad news, but if accidents happen, both the automaker and Apple will be blamed. [...]
As the industry moves towards more automation, CarPlay 2 will be even less relevant since there are huge safety concerns and no manufacturer wants to rely on software that is not 100% in their control.
Most automakers will stick to regular CarPlay and treat it as a built-in app, but don’t put all your hopes in CarPlay Ultra making it into your next vehicle unless you’re buying an Aston Martin.