Renault, Google expand pact to make cars 'like mobile phones'

Renault is deepening its collaboration with Google in a bid to extend capabilities on remote software updates to new models such as the electric Megane E-Tech and Austral.

“We want to make the car an intelligent object that learns and one that can be upgraded over the air like a mobile phone,” Renault CEO Luca de Meo said in an interview.

Automakers are scrambling to catch up with Tesla’s tech capabilities, including the ability to deliver updates to cars remotely.

Expanding the partnership with Google, which started in 2018, will allow Renault to offer more over-the-air software updates as well as additional on-demand services, the two companies said Tuesday.

The partnership with Google will also help Renault accelerate its "end-to-end digital transformation, from the design of the car to its market launch through its production," de Meo said in a statement.

The new in-vehicle digital features will create additional revenue while bolstering the residual value of Renault cars and retain customers, de Meo added.

Functions on demand will include drivers being able to locate their cars in large parking lots.

“The product stays in connection with the company from cradle to grave, for more than one ownership cycle,” the CEO said.

The expansion of the partnership with Google shows Renault’s “horizontal” strategy under de Meo, which includes collaborations on software with developers rather than designing the tech in-house -- a strategy that has yielded mixed results at other traditional automakers.

Volkswagen Group delayed crucial new models and pushed out ex-CEO Herbert Diess in July amid problems at its Cariad software unit.

“We are a hardware manufacturer; software is another sport,” de Meo said. “If you want to learn to play tennis, you better go with someone who plays proper tennis.”

Automakers and technology companies including Sony, Apple and Google, have been working to develop ways to build future cars into platforms more like smartphones, with billable services where key updates are wireless.

Reuters contributed to this report