The Ford CEO Jim Farley indicated his company will not end support for Apple’s CarPlay in the vehicles it makes. He said the decision was an easy one because a majority of Ford buyers own Apple products.
He was asked the question in an interview because rival GM recently announced it will end CarPlay support in some of its vehicles.
Ford is sticking with Apple CarPlay
First introduced in 2014, CarPlay lets an iPhone interact with a suitably-equipped car radio or built-in infotainment system. It is primarily used for streaming music and maps, though Apple envisions a future where its software takes over the vehicle’s entire instrument cluster.
Over time, smartphone users have come to expect that new cars will support CarPlay and Android Auto. And they won’t be disappointed if they buy a Ford. The CEO of the car-maker made that clear during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“70% of our Ford customers in the U.S. are Apple customers,” said Farley on Wednesday. “Why would I go to an Apple customer and say ‘good luck’?”
At #WSJFuture Ford CEO @JimFarley talked to @JoannaStern about two camps in the car software OEM game today and why Ford is staying out of the content business.
"70% of our Ford customers in the US are Apple customers. Why would I go to an Apple customer and say good luck?" pic.twitter.com/cXcUjW0qth
— WSJ Live Journalism (@WSJLive) May 3, 2023
He also said he didn’t believe selling content on a vehicle’s entertainment system will ever become a significant source of revenue for car-makers. So there’s no reason for Ford to not stick with CarPlay.
But GM is out
Farley’s decision may have been affected by the huge furor that resulted from GM’s announcement in April that it was ditching both CarPlay and Android Auto on future EVs.
Starting in 2024, GM’s electric vehicles will use an in-car system that offers Google software, including Maps.