The 2016-2017 car model year this year looks to be a banner one for Apple and its CarPlay technology being integrated into vehicles, generally with Android Auto compatibility along for the ride. Following announcements in January from Ford, Honda, Kia, and Lincoln adding CarPlay to various model year 2016 and 2017 vehicles, new manufacturers making announcements at the New York International Auto Show this week include Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, and Volkswagen.
Last week, Chevrolet said it would add CarPlay and Android Auto to its
2017 Sonic, the first time the company has brought the infotainment technology to a subcompact-class car. GM had previously said it would add CarPlay to the
2017 Chevrolet Trax as well. Volkswagen will bring CarPlay to the US version of its
2017 Golf Alltrack, and Kia will bring CarPlay and Android Auto its
2017 Cadenza. All of the above-mentioned vehicles will be available from dealers in the fall of this year, or before the end of the year.
Honda, which already offers CarPlay and Android Auto in its current-year Accord, Civic, and already-available 2017 Ridgeline models, will add the technology to its
2017 Civic Hatchback and the US version of its
2017 Clarity Fuel Cell Sedan, which is one of the few hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars. The Clarity features significant improvements from previous Honday fuel-cell vehicles, with a new more compact cell and powertrain design that is nevertheless much more powerful, and now resides entirely under the hood.
2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle
The Clarity is expected to have a driving range that exceeds 300 miles, and additional passenger space compared to previous models. It will debut near the end of the year, and initially is only expected to appear in California, where a useable hydrogen refueling infrastructure is already in place. The FCV is said to take only three to five minutes to fully refuel with hydrogen. The 2017 Civic Hatchback, a conventional gas-powered car, will arrive in the fall.
Some other CarPlay- and Android Auto-supporting vehicles were announced at the show, but without scheduled debut windows, though most are expected to appear by the end of this year. Hyundai showcased its
2017 Ioniq electric vehicle. Subaru, which had previously said it was uncertain that it would incorporate CarPlay anytime soon, debuted its first CarPlay vehicle with the
2017 Impreza, but did not say when it would appear at dealers.
The all-electric 2017 Hyundai Ioniq
While there are still some companies, such as Land Rover and Mazda, that have yet to make formal CarPlay announcements, Apple's Siri-incorporating vehicle tech looks set, along with Google's version, to become standard equipment or a standard add-in in most vehicles among popular US carmakers by calendar 2017. Apple's web page
listing CarPlay-compatible vehicles currently boasts 115 vehicle models from 24 carmakers worldwide (not including the various recent announcements of today and the past month), and announcements from more continue at various auto shows and other industry events continue.
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