Antitrust pressure: Google opens Android infotainment to third-party providers

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Until now, Google Maps or the Play Store in-car infotainment have only been available in a package with other services. Now the German Federal Cartel Office has obliged the US company to also allow competing products.

At the urging of the Federal Cartel Office, Google has agreed to change the conditions for the use of its services in cars. In the future, the US company will allow car manufacturers to license only individual components of the so-called “Google Automotive Services” (GAS), which include Google Maps, the Google Play Store and the Google Assistant, separately. Previously, the services could only be licensed as a package.

Android Automotive: Google services in cars can be combined more freely by manufacturers

According to the Federal Cartel Office, car manufacturers can now design their infotainment more flexibly and use Amazon's Alexa instead of Google Assistant, for example, or choose Mapbox, Here or OpenStreetMap instead of Google Maps.

“In the future, vehicle manufacturers will be able to decide freely between services from different providers and combine them according to customer requirements,” said Andreas Mundt, Head of the Federal Cartel Office. This new regulation offers opportunities for alternative providers, allowing them to develop new solutions for infotainment in vehicles together with vehicle manufacturers, for example.

However, it is questionable whether car manufacturers are at all interested in purchasing components from different providers or whether the Google services package is not more practical for them. Nevertheless, the new regulation offers car manufacturers more design freedom.

Another component of the opening up of Google services is the removal of “restrictive contractual arrangements”, which were used to create incentives to use Google services. In addition, Google undertakes to create the necessary conditions for interoperability with services from other providers.

Google Maps platform to be opened up to third parties

Another change concerns Google's map service specifically for corporate customers such as logistics service providers or delivery services: Until now, Google's map platform only allowed a limited combination of the various Maps services with services from other providers.

These restrictions have now been “lifted in favor of greater flexibility and choice for customers”, said Mundt. This would give companies the opportunity to integrate cheaper services into their apps and develop their own alternatives.

New regulations apply beyond Germany

Google's concessions are not limited to Germany. The new regulations also apply to the entire European market due to the EU-wide uniform licensing conditions.

Regarding the changes to the Google Maps platform, the new regulations apply to all licensees of Google Maps services that use a billing address in the European Economic Area (EEA).

(kbe)