Apple CarPlay to Enable Fuel Purchases from Dashboard
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Apple CarPlay to Enable Fuel Purchases from Dashboard

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Antonio Gozain By Antonio Gozain | Senior Journalist and Industry Analyst - Thu, 06/30/2022 - 16:35

Apple is adding a feature to CarPlay that will let drivers purchase fuel from their vehicle’s dashboard. The feature is expected to become available as early as fall 2022, when the new CarPlay software rolls out.

Earlier this month, during its Worldwide Developers Conference 2022, Apple announced the next generation of CarPlay, which aims to have a deeper integration with the vehicle itself. The new fuel-purchasing feature was quietly unveiled during the conference. US fuel company HF Sinclair, which sells gasoline at 1,600 stations, told Reuters that it plans to use the new CarPlay technology and will announce details in coming months.

"We are excited by the idea that consumers could navigate to a Sinclair station and purchase fuel from their vehicle navigation screen," said Jack Barger, Vice President of Marketing, HF Sinclair.

Apple continues pushing its strategy toward the automotive industry. While the tech giant already has plans to begin production of an in-house EV by 2024, the company remains working on its CarPlay software.

The fuel-purchasing feature is still in its early stages, but the plan is to have a number of CarPlay apps that can navigate to gas stations, pay for gas and start the pump, all through Apple’s own interface. Gasoline apps are the latest push by Apple to make it possible to tap and buy from a car’s navigation screen. Earlier, the company had already opened up CarPlay to apps for parking, EV charging and ordering food.

Currently, Apple does not charge automakers, developers or users for CarPlay. “The business interest is putting Apple at the forefront as cars transform into rolling computers. Forget about Apple Car, Apple CarPlay is a bigger deal. It is very likely to scale to millions and millions of cars, if not hundreds of millions,” said Horace Dediu, Analyst, Asymco and Founder, Micromobility Industries, reported Reuters.

Although automakers are “wary” of new competition entering the sector, customers have shown an increasing interest in entertainment systems and in-vehicle technology. The 2021 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study showed that the largest complaints of new vehicle owners pertain to the infotainment system and smartphone connectivity.

While the battle between automakers and tech giants unfolds, the reality is that there are signs that both sides are coming to terms, as reported by MBN. Amazon recently cut deals with OEMs to integrate its Alexa voice assistant in vehicles. Qualcomm Corp has signed chip deals with Volvo Group, Honda Motor and Renault. Google has agreements with General Motors, Volvo Cars and the Renault-Nissan Alliance to provide software for the next generation of systems.

Photo by:   Apple

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