Strong global demand for vehicle connectivity and consumer hesitation to pay for connectivity subscriptions have required carmakers to explore other avenues of generating revenue from connectivity. Adding value through embedded Voice Assistants (VAs) enables automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to address consumer’s infotainment needs and generate revenue through the expansion of use cases like paid Feature-on-Demand (FoD), app store payments, and in-car commerce. ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, forecast these expanding use cases to drive embedded VA shipments to 116 million worldwide, at a CAGR of 24.4% from 2024-33.
“Integration of payment services and more 3rd party applications into in-vehicle app stores such as Harman‘s Ignite Store or Access Twine for Car, paired with more impressive VA functionality, will create more immersive and convenient services for consumers, and the value added from this experience can combat the connected infotainment churn that OEMs often see after free trial periods, says Abujayed Miah, Smart Mobility and Automotive Analyst at ABI Research.
Cellular connectivity will be embedded in 60% of new vehicles shipped in 2024, amounting to 50.62 million shipments. Global connected car subscriptions are expected to break 300 million for the first time in 2024, with 65% of these being embedded consumer telematics subscriptions and 116 million being free trial subscriptions. Miah explains, “This leaves 203 million paid subscriptions, split between 19 million infotainment subscriptions and 183 million consumer telematics subscriptions. Generating more paid connectivity subscriptions will be key to driving the growth of software-defined vehicles.”
Infotainment subscriptions have thus far failed to yield meaningful revenues for OEMs, but immersive experiences are finding more success in the car as larger and higher-resolution screens enter the vehicle. An increasing number of OEMs are focused on providing Video-on-Demand and gaming functionalities in their vehicles, such as Mercedes-Benz with its MBUX multimedia system.
As connectivity approaches saturation across developed markets and continues to grow rapidly in developing regions, offering competitive value with additional services and features is paramount to subsidizing this expansion. “Embedded connectivity is not an option anymore, and for stakeholders to sustain the software-defined vehicle transition, the industry needs to innovate to find the functionalities that a customer is willing to pay for past the point of sale,” Miah concludes.
