Apple Says That Over 40 New Car Models Will Support CarPlay in 2015

Is Apple’s CarPlay picking up steam? Although the system has seen a slow adoption rate so far, it appears that this may be changing in 2015. According to an announcement by Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company’s recent “Spring Forward” event, every major automaker is now supporting CarPlay.

CarPlay was first announced by Apple in 2014, and to date, only a handful of vehicles have been shipped that support the technology. Two of the current car manufacturers that support CarPlay are “supercar” companies Koenigsegg and Ferrari. Consumers can also currently use CarPlay through an aftermarket dashboard unit from Pioneer and Alpine, which can be installed in many vehicle models.

However, many iPhone users and auto industry analysts have been wondering why it’s taking so long for the CarPlay infotainment system to be supported widely in new vehicles, but now it appears that the wait may be coming to an end.

According to Apple, “more than 40 new models” of vehicles will be shipping with CarPlay-enabled dashboards by the end of 2015. This would greatly expand the reach of the system and its adoption rate among consumers. Although the entirety of the details are not yet available, car brands that Apple has listed as supporters of CarPlay include Mercedes Benz, Jeep, Ford, Jaguar, Honda, Hyundai and Audi.

Volkswagen recently revealed its plans to be shipping CarPlay with certain car models at some point in 2015, and Chevrolet has indicated that it will be using the CarPlay technology in the 2016 version of the Volt hybrid. Additionally, CarPlay will be shipping with the upcoming Volvo XC90.

The biggest auto manufacturer in the world, Toyota, stated last month that it had not committed to supporting either CarPlay or Google’s Android Auto system. However, Toyota is among the car companies listed on Apple’s website that will release models supporting the technology.

Some car companies may continue to use proprietary infotainment technology in their vehicles, and some may offer Google’s Android Auto system as an option aside from CarPlay or in addition to it. Certainly, the competition in this space is fierce. We expect to learn more soon about which automakers will be backing one or the other, or providing support for both systems in their new vehicles. Stay tuned for further developments as they become available.