Amazon plans to continue talking its way into the automotive industry with its Alexa voice assistant.
The tech giant is expected to grow its Alexa-enabled offerings in the coming months and years, including a significant expansion into the embedded software systems of vehicles.
Bringing the popular voice assistant into vehicles is part of a growing automotive business portfolio for Amazon that includes a consumer research website and a substantial investment in electric-vehicle startup Rivian.
In 2016, automakers started partnering with Amazon to do rudimentary tasks such as checking fuel levels and starting the vehicle remotely. That grew to Alexa being enabled through a vehicle's sound system via an app and through automotive accessories with Alexa built-in.
"The real North Star for us is to be embedded with all the cars," Ned Curic, vice president of Amazon Alexa Automotive, told Automotive News. "That's where we want to get. We're working very hard to get there because we believe that is the best experience."
Curic declined to comment on how many automakers Amazon is in discussions with about embedding Alexa into their vehicles but said consumers should expect "a significant number of vehicles having access to Alexa" in the coming years.
Audi and BMW Group, including the Mini brand, are the first to begin installing Alexa into their vehicles' software system.