Audi enhances digital in-car experience with new offers
24 May 2022
Audi has announced a partnership with Munich-based tech company 4.screen, with the aim of enhancing the digital in-car experience. The German carmaker will integrate new cloud technology into Audi vehicles this autumn to add extra benefits to the infotainment system.
The manufacturer promises the infotainment system will offer additional information on points of interest, relying on real-time data from 4.screen. Users may opt to receive location-based and personalised offers from third-party providers via the multimedia interface (MMI). The supplementary information from the cloud will add to Audi’s existing infotainment content.
4.screen describes itself as the world’s first platform to offer interaction with drivers in real time. Its technology is based on the so-called mobility-experience cloud that provides an interface for location-based communication and interaction on the vehicle’s display. This means drivers can make use of in-car recommendations, improved on-screen content, and access to exclusive offers.
Expanding MMI content
Audi said the collaboration with 4.screen will significantly expand its MMI offering, with the integration of the new cloud technology into the infotainment system providing ‘tremendous’ potential. This should benefit Audi drivers in the form of exclusive content and personalised offers, all in real time.
‘In the future, when Audi drivers perform an MMI search for a nearby organic market, they will also be able to view additional content on demand, such as the services or offers currently available at the locations shown. This means local businesses can present their range of products and services to Audi customers, while the latter benefit from comprehensive information about the companies in real-time and, where applicable, from exclusive offers,’ Audi explained.
Those offers could take the shape of a free cup of coffee from an on-site café, or even free charging for electric-vehicle (EV) owners. The recommendations will be made available with the consent of customers and can be redeemed by scanning a QR code displayed in the MMI.
At the heart of the new offering lies 4.screen’s cloud technology, which can easily be integrated into existing infotainment systems. The application-programming interface creates a real-time connection between partnering companies and Audi customers.
The car as a ‘living space’
Audi is laying particular focus on expanding the individual customer experience, especially as cars are getting smarter and more connected. In the next 10 years, the German carmaker wants its vehicles to become ‘fully-connected mobility devices.’
To improve the digital in-car experience, Audi will also integrate Apple Music into select models. This will give users the ability to access their subscriptions directly from the MMI screen, using in-car internet data – a Bluetooth connection or USB are not required. The service will be ad-free and will be included in nearly all Audi vehicles in Europe, North America, and Japan. It will be rolled out to existing vehicles via an automatic over-the-air update.
‘Integrating Apple Music into the audio infotainment system marks the next step in the collaboration between Audi and Apple,’ said Christiane Zorn, head of product marketing at Audi.
‘For our customers, it means that we are offering them direct access to their own personalised listening experience. This is our understanding of a premium digital in-car experience. At Audi, we are systematically driving the digitalisation of the vehicle and we are convinced that the interior is increasingly developing into a third living space,’ she added.
