Smartphone-like app platform will ‘be key to success of connected car industry’

Speaking at the SMMT Connected conference in London, Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, director of the engineering group at Jaguar Land Rover, said connected and autonomous cars of the near-future will depend on a platform through which developers can create apps, just as they have to revolutionise the smartphone industry. Citing the app stores of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile platforms, Ziebart said: “What is key for car manufacturers? To provide a platform where others can add applications as easily as possible. This is to me the key to success for car manufacturers.”