PARIS -- BMW has signed a deal with Faurecia to use the supplier’s Aptoide Automotive App Store in future vehicles, both cars and motorcycles.
Aptoide is a scalable platform that allows over-the-air updates and new apps to be added. Faurecia and Aptoide, an independent Android app store platform, created a joint venture in 2019 to develop automotive uses.
Automakers are hoping to create new revenue streams through connected services, including in-car purchases and subscriptions. Aptoide’s platform also includes a secure payment mechanism for such purchases, as well as privacy protections.
Aptoide offers more than one million apps, including gaming, navigation, content streaming, point of interest recommendations and parking, though automakers can choose which are available.
Faurecia says the Aptoide platform is already in use in three million vehicles, including Volkswagen Group’s South American offerings (where it is known as VW Play), and said Thursday in a release that it was in talks with other automakers to integrate it.
