Companies such as General Motors and Rivian faced backlash for failing to adopt Apple’s CarPlay platform, while Ford did the opposite. In a statement to 9to5Mac, Ford explained its reasons for supporting CarPlay.
Ford is using its commitment to Apple CarPlay as a selling point over other EVs from companies like General Motors, Tesla and Rivian. In the past two weeks, General Motors revealed that it will no longer support CarPlay in its electric vehicles starting with the 2024 model year, while Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe doubled down on his company’s resistance to CarPlay.
GM’s decision and Scaringe’s comments were met with widespread opposition from CarPlay users. In a statement to 9to5Mac on Thursday, Ford made it clear that, unlike some of its peers, it has no plans to ditch CarPlay.
A Ford spokesperson said: “We will continue to offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because customers love the ability to easily access and control their smartphone apps — especially our EV customers, as some EVs don’t currently offer these features. Function.”
Ford has been a staunch supporter of CarPlay and Android Auto for years. The company also recently rolled out a firmware update to several vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E, that further improves the CarPlay experience.
A former Apple executive who led the Apple Car “Project Titan” team for many years, is now serving as the vice president of “EV and Digital Systems” at Ford. Ford is also on Apple’s list of automakers that have pledged support for its next-generation CarPlay platform.
