Stellantis has revealed that it will collaborate with Amazon as part of a multiyear agreement in a bid to transform the in-vehicle experience. This will see the company focus on software by deploying Amazon’s technologies across its entire business from including vehicle development. Together, Stellantis and Amazon are developing software-based products and services that will get improved over time via over-the-air (OTA) updates.
“Working together with Amazon is an integral part of our capability building road map, based on both developing internal competencies and decisive collaborations with tech leaders, and it will bring significant expertise to one of our key technology platforms, STLA SmartCockpit,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “By leveraging artificial intelligence and cloud solutions, we will transform our vehicles into personalized living spaces and enhance the overall customer experience, making our vehicles the most wanted, most captivating place to be, even when not driving.”
The first part of this partnership will be the STLA SmartCockpit that will be used in the majority of Stellantis vehicles globally by 2024. It will be tailored so that it can easily integrate with consumers’ digital lives to create a personalized in-vehicle experience via artificial intelligence-enhanced apps, Alexa-enabled voice assistance, built-in navigation, vehicle maintenance, e-commerce marketplaces, and payment services. STLA SmartCockpit will use vehicle-specific versions of Amazon’s technologies and will be customized specifically for the brands under the Stellantis umbrella. It will also offer an app store on the infotainment system and adapt to customer behavior and interests. Stellantis says vehicles like the Chrysler Pacifica could get a family planner app while Jeep models would feature a digital off-road “coach” to help them optimize the vehicle before going off the beaten path. Mobile Drive, Stellantis’ joint venture with Foxconn, will also be involved in the development of STLA SmartCockpit and the services that will support it.
Stellantis intends to migrate its current vehicle data pipeline from all of its brands and regions into a single cloud-based mesh. This will be done in collaboration with AWS as the cloud provider for vehicle platforms, giving engineers the tools and interfaces that best suits a specific project. In addition, this move will enable Stellantis to accelerate digital products’ entry into the market. A cloud-based development environment called the Virtual Engineering Workbench will help Stellantis and Amazon manage software development and testing, high-performance simulations, machine learning model training, and data collection and analysis.
Stellantis will also upskill its existing and new employees via its Software Academy that will launch a new global learning curriculum with AWS called the Agile-auto Software and Data Academy. This will focus mainly on software, data, and cloud technologies. Stellantis will also train over 5,000 developers and engineers by 2024 in AWS-related cloud technologies to speed up its move toward a cloud-based, data-driven operation. Stellantis and AWS will also launch a network of innovation hubs globally where experts from both companies can work together with the assistance of the latter’s cloud services.
In addition to collaborating on software, Stellantis will also supply Amazon with new delivery vans. Currently, Amazon operates the Ram ProMaster, Fiat Ducato, and Citroën LCV in North America and Europe. As part of its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2040, Amazon will be the launch customer of the upcoming battery-electric version of the Ram ProMaster that’s launching in 2023. The van has been designed with unique last-mile delivery features that took Amazon’s input into account. Amazon will use the all-electric ProMaster in routes across the U.S. once Stellantis delivers the first batch.
