Hyperdrive
Renault-Nissan Teams With Google and Lets Android Into the Dash
- Alliance will use Android operating system starting in 2021
- Other automakers have been wary of ceding too much control
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Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. are about to do what many carmakers have been trying to avoid: let Google into the dashboard.
The French-Japanese auto alliance announced a technology partnership that will make its vehicles among the first to use Google’s Android operating system in the dashboard, letting Alphabet Inc.’s software control mapping and navigation, infotainment and a suite of apps directly installed in the car. Most carmakers allow Android Auto and Apple Inc.’s CarPlay into the dashboard only by plugging in a smartphone and projecting a limited number of apps onto the vehicle’s touchscreen.