Automotive innovation brings connected car technologies

Qualcomm Technologies secured 25 new telematics and infotainment design-wins in FY17, reaching a total of more than $3bn in design-wins reflected in the pipeline in these automotive segments, which includes over $1bn in infotainment. At Mobile World Congress  2018, Qualcomm Technologies is scheduled to showcase some of its latest developments in automotive, including a concept car featuring 5G and Gigabit LTE use cases, next-generation cluster and infotainment configurations, and Cellular-V2X demonstrations from trials in San Diego.

The growing demand for technology and connectivity in vehicles puts Qualcomm Technologies in a strong position to serve the needs of the automotive industry, as analysts estimate that approximately 75% of new vehicles are projected to have embedded cellular connectivity by 2024, up from about 20% in 2015. Qualcomm Technologies now offers one of the broadest portfolios of automotive technologies including cellular modems, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, RF front end, global navigation satellite system and high-precision positioning solutions, software and infotainment platforms. After just four years since announcing the Company’s entry into the automotive infotainment segment, Qualcomm Snapdragon automotive platforms have won infotainment designs at 14 of the top 25 global automaker brands, and the Company is leading the automotive space in premium next-gen infotainment design-wins for production vehicles starting in 2019-2020.

As 5G begins to roll out, it is expected to enable over $2.4tn in economic output across the broader automotive sector — almost a fifth of the projected global impact of 5G. Qualcomm Technologies is already working with leading automakers and tier-1 suppliers on the integration of its 5G technology in vehicles.

“The automotive industry is in an unprecedented era of innovation as consumers demand more connectivity, convenience and safety features in their vehicles,” said Patrick Little, senior vice president and general manager, automotive, Qualcomm Technologies. “We are pleased to make our innovations available to carmakers and tier-1 suppliers and help them shape the future of connected vehicles, and we are prepared to support the next phase of growth of the automotive industry with key technologies including 5G, Gigabit LTE, Cellular-V2X and high-performance, power-efficient computing.”

“At Ford, connectivity and intelligence innovations are key building blocks to provide customers worldwide with the best human-centred experiences,” said Don Butler, executive director, connected vehicle and services, Ford Motor Company. “Qualcomm’s research and inventions in technologies such as 5G and Cellular-V2X are fundamental to support our vision for connected cars that seamlessly operate with smart cities to improve quality of life for everyone.”

“Geely is one of the fastest-growing car manufacturers globally, driven by outstanding growth in China and the acquisition of global brands such as Volvo,” said Feng Qing Feng, chief technology officer, Geely Auto Group. “With its inventions, Qualcomm Technologies fuels our progress, helping us to provide the technologies and experiences that consumer’s demand today.”

“Groupe PSA is committed to delivering high quality, safe and convenient mobility experiences for its customers,” said Jean-François Salessy, R&D Senior Vice President of Groupe PSA, Head of Electrical & Electronic Systems Division. “In line with this commitment, Qualcomm Technologies was engaged back in 2017, bringing its Snapdragon 820A for our next generation of connected infotainment. As a world leader in silicon and communication technology, Qualcomm Technologies is a key collaborator in this infotainment program, delivering leading edge technologies and innovations in the field of connectivity and intelligent HMI for automotive.”

“As the industry moves towards 5G, Qualcomm Technologies' automotive solutions will help us to create premium in-car experiences for our customers,” said Nick Rogers Executive Director, Product Engineering for Jaguar Land Rover, “Qualcomm Technologies' expertise will be of invaluable support in providing seamless connectivity in our vehicles, allowing us to make customers' lives better.”

“LG is a leader today in delivering the next-generation of vehicle technologies and we rely on Qualcomm Technologies' innovations in Snapdragon infotainment, LTE, LTE-Advanced and 5G modem technology to achieve this goal,” said Kim Jin-yong, executive vice president of LG’s Vehicle Components Smart Business Unit. “As a leading inventor of 5G technologies and our key provider for infotainment and telematics semiconductors, Qualcomm Technologies is our collaborator of choice for bringing the next-generation wireless and compute solutions to the automotive industry.”

“As strategic, long-standing partners, we are proud to work closely with Qualcomm Technologies to develop and produce cutting-edge automotive platforms for the next generation of connected vehicles,” said Sandeep Chennakeshu, President of BlackBerry Technology Solutions. “Working together with automakers and Tier-1s around the world, BlackBerry QNX’s embedded software using Qualcomm Technologies’ state of the art modems and application processors deliver safety certified, secure solutions with high functionality.”

“We have a long and successful relationship with Qualcomm Technologies, working together on the next generation of connected vehicles systems,” said Johann Hiebl, Head of the Continental business unit, Infotainment & Connectivity. “Together we are already engaged in several customer field trials for infotainment, Cellular-V2X and 5G and we are excited to bring these breakthrough technologies to our customers driving a new era in connected vehicles.”

“Consumers demand increasingly sophisticated and advanced in-vehicle features that are also affordable and able to stay current over time,” said Tom Gebhardt, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “Providing customers better experiences is a key imperative at Panasonic, and Qualcomm Technologies’ inventions and technologies such as 5G are important to deliver automotive solutions that are efficient and evolve as time and technology changes.  Together we’ve been able to meet or exceed customer expectations and provide users with outstanding in-car experiences.”

“Our work with Qualcomm Technologies is an important part of our efforts to offering automakers automotive solutions with high levels of performance, cost-effectiveness and reliability,” said Visteon President and CEO Sachin Lawande. “The innovations that Qualcomm Technologies develop are important for all leading participants in the automotive supply chain, such as Visteon, and we look forward to working with them on 5G, C-V2X, Snapdragon Infotainment and Cluster solutions.”