Paris (AFP)

The automobile group Stellantis, resulting from the recent merger of Peugeot-Citroën and Fiat-Chrysler, and the Taiwanese giant of the manufacture of electronic products Foxconn announced on Tuesday the next launch of a joint venture to develop connected cockpits. , intended for all manufacturers.

The two partners signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form Mobile Drive, a 50-50 joint venture whose objective is to "accelerate the development times for new equipment".

The future Netherlands-based joint venture will operate as a supplier to the automotive sector and participate in providing software solutions and related hardware for Stellantis and other interested automakers, they said.

No figures have been communicated.

It is about "offering innovative embedded experiences to users" which "will exceed customer expectations" through "consumer electronics products, HMI interfaces (human-machine interaction) and advanced services", have they indicated in a press release.

Images presented to reporters showed futuristic cockpits with large screens, and other screens for passenger entertainment.

"We cannot give a date for the first cockpit," Yves Bonnefont, software manager at Stellantis, said on a press conference call.

"We want to go fast", he added, noting that all the brands of the group were a priori concerned.

# photo1

Stellantis wants to "strike hard and fast towards improving the customer experience", software being "at the heart of this improvement," said General Manager Carlos Tavares.

"This is exactly what we are up to with our friends at Foxconn."

"It's something that will change the way we design our cars," he said.

The announcement of the day "is a brick of what will be in Stellantis' long-term strategic plan" which will be presented by the end of the year, he added.

"The vehicles of the future will increasingly be driven by software, and designed by software," said Young Liu, president of Foxconn.

This conglomerate known in particular for assembling Apple iPhones, is seeking to diversify into the automobile sector, to participate in the design of electric and connected vehicles.

In January 2020 - before the Covid-19 pandemic and the birth of Stellantis - he signed a preliminary agreement with Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) providing for the establishment of a joint venture to jointly manufacture electric vehicles, intended for the Chinese market.

© 2021 AFP