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Ask HN: Why there are no startups building car infotainments?
Car infotainment seems to be at the forefront for car manufacturers and they obviously suck at it.
I am puzzled that there are no startups building what could easily be just a linux distro with its own DE in a relatively well defined and constrained environment.
- airhangerf15 2y agoAlmost all car head units are custom fit now. We've lost the era of the standard Double DIN. Pioneer, Kenwood and others are still around because people are still retrofitting older vehicles. But once all of those are off the road, expect the entire market to disappear.
- edent 2y agoSelling to extremely large companies is difficult. Safety regulations mean that car companies want to deal with other big companies, or those with big enough insurance. Buyers don't buy based on infotainment. What makes you think it "sucks" for the majority of buyers? Have you spoken to normal drivers to see if it is something that genuinely bothers them? If so, how much more would they be willing to pay for a better infotainment system? Finally, who actually buys cars? Most of them are fleet - not individuals.
- caseyohara 2y ago> who actually buys cars? Most of them are fleet - not individuals. What do you mean here? The total fleet share of new vehicle sales in 2023 was only 17.5%.
- edent 2y agoIt was around 60% in the UK https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/half-a-million-new-company-cars-registered-so-far-this-year https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/half-a-million-new-company-...
- solardev 2y agoDidn't Apple and Google both already try and fail at this?
- wmf 2y agoGoogle is being adopted by more and more automakers.
- solardev 2y agoDo you mean their Automotive OS, not just Android Auto?
- wmf 2y agoYes. I can't keep the names straight.
- solardev 2y agoSorry, I wasn't nitpicking... I just didn't realize Automotive OS actually lived on! I thought it died a few years ago, but apparently Ford is adopting it. Anyone else? I would love to see this get more uptake, but I didn't think the manufacturers were going that route. Some, like GM and Tesla and Rivian, are altogether avoiding Google and Apple in favor of their own systems, aren't they?