For Stellantis' vision, Amazon will be 'enabler'

CEO Carlos Tavares says Stellantis has its sights set on becoming an "automotive tech company," and it's collaborating with Amazon to make this vision a reality.

Stellantis has committed to investing $35 billion by 2025 in electrification and software as it rolls out new tech platforms. It wants to turn its vehicles into personalized living spaces letting passengers take their digital lifestyles with them.

Amazon will be a key partner in this pursuit.

Stellantis said it will collaborate with Amazon to deliver software for its upcoming STLA SmartCockpit platform debuting in 2024. The cockpit software will offer artificial intelligence-based applications including navigation, Alexa-enabled voice assistance, an e-commerce marketplace and payment services.

"This partnership is an enabler of the Stellantis strategy," Tavares said during CES last week. "It's an enabler in certain areas of our technology road map, certain areas of our business. And, by the way, it's a very balanced partnership from a financial standpoint."

The Amazon connection means Stellantis vehicles could integrate with the company's smart home and security technology.

The latest projects build on the relationship between Stellantis and Amazon. Stellantis already has outfitted the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs with Amazon's Fire TV streaming technology. It also was the first automaker to reveal plans to implement Amazon's Alexa Custom Assistant.

Stellantis has chosen Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider and said the two companies "plan to build the next generation of cloud-enabled infrastructure for vehicle platforms, including for STLA SmartCockpit."

Stellantis and Amazon are launching an educational effort called the Agile-Auto Software and Data Academy to train more than 5,000 developers and engineers by 2024 in Amazon Web Services-related cloud technologies. The companies also are creating a cloud-based product development environment called the Virtual Engineering Workbench.

Amazon will be the first commercial customer for the battery-electric Ram ProMaster van, expanding the company's sustainable delivery network that also includes Rivian electric vans. The ProMaster was designed, with input from Amazon, to have "unique last mile delivery features."