Linux, Android poised to dominate automotive infotainment systems

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Open source platforms Linux and Android are poised to take a leading role in the automotive infotainment market as OEMs seek to leverage the advantages of the platforms for more flexible, user-friendly infotainment interfaces, Strategy Analytics 2019 Automotive OS Forecast finds.

The trend toward open source in infotainment is global, with Europe, China and North America all showing significant gains in market share for Android and Linux, although adoption varies by region. Between 2018 and 2024, Linux is forecast to have a CAGR of 30 percent globally. Regionally, Linux is forecast to have the greatest market adoption in Europe, with both China and North America seeing the highest growth of the Android platform between 2018 and 2024.

“We already saw the trend toward the adoption of Linux and Android for infotainment over the past two years, but the shift is happening much more rapidly than many initially expected,” said** Edward Sanchez , Senior Analyst, Automotive for Strategy Analytics **. “OEMs are increasingly investing in the in-vehicle experience, as consumers are coming to expect a similar experience from their vehicle as they get from their smartphone or tablet. The large developer communities for Linux and Android allow them to iterate and develop more quickly than in the past.”

“The platform battleground in Automotive is clearly shifting towards greater vehicle-domain convergence between Infotainment/Telematics and Safety at both the hardware and software levels. With strong roots in the consumer space, variants of Android and Linux are the OS tools that are being used by the automotive industry to unlock the gold mine of revenue from data and services in the vehicle,” said Richard Robinson, Director, Automotive Infotainment and Telematics, Strategy Analytics.

The report also looks at the emergence of hypervisor solutions and Cockpit Domain Controller models as OEMs look to simplify lightweight hardware, and the physical electronics and wiring infrastructure of the car, while at the same time adding more functions and conveniences.