Mahindra Will Offer Android Auto In XUV 500 & Scorpio; 1st Indian Car Maker To Be Included In Open Automotive Alliance

Indian automobile industry breached a major milestone this week as Mahindra & Mahindra became the first Indian company to be included in the prestigious Open Automotive Alliance. As a result, Mahindra has announced that their XUV 500 and Scorpio SUVs will now be powered with Android Auto.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which manufacturers’ automobiles in India having assets worth $11 billion, is part of the Mahindra Group conglomerate. Besides being consistently rated as one of the biggest brands in India, Mahindra & Mahindra is India’s one of the largest vehicle manufacturer, and the biggest tractor manufacturer in the world.

While announcing this news at the Google I/O event in San Francisco, Pravin Shah, President and Chief Executive (Automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “We are happy to be part of the OAA and being the first Indian OEM to be part of this prestigious global alliance, it is indeed a moment we are proud of.”

Currently, Mahindra has been using their proprietary Blue Sense App, which integrates all digital communication channels inside their vehicles using Bluetooth. But with Android Auto in place, the synchronization between hardware and software within Mahindra vehicles will become much more powerful.

About Open Automotive Alliance & Android Auto

Open Automotive Alliance is one of the most prestigious and powerful groups of automobile makers, who will be using Android Auto in their cars. Founded by Audi, General Motors, Honda and Hyundai, Open Automotive Alliance now boasts of more than 25 car manufacturers from all over the world, which includes Ford, Nissan, Renault, Suzuki, Fiat and Bentley.

Android Auto is an advanced telematics standard created by Google which can technologically power automobiles and make them even more connected and robust. It’s an entirely new interface, designed especially for vehicles, wherein all the incoming information (chats, messages, emails, weather information etc) are displayed via simple cards.

Keeping in mind the safety concerns, Android Auto has integrated wheel controls, voice recognition, search options, navigation control, audio and video streaming and many more features into an common platform. Using various apps, the vehicle owners can use advanced features such as eyes-free technology wherein every activity happens based on voice commands, advanced Google Maps features and connecting mobile, tablets and in-vehicle technology into one.

Hyundai has become the first automaker to integrate Android Auto in their cars, as they recently announced that their new Sonata model will be powered with this new OS.

As of now, Android Auto is being offered in US, UK and Australia; and with Mahindra part of Open Automotive Alliance, we will see the same in Mahindra XUV 500 & Scorpio very soon.