Hyundai announced today at the New York International Auto Show its 2015 Sonata will be the first of its vehicles to feature Apple’s new CarPlay technology bringing phone, messaging, music, and navigation functionality from the iPhone to the in-dash display through iOS and Siri. Apple rebranded its iOS in the Car feature announced at WWDC in 2013 as CarPlay earlier this year with a number of committed partners including Hyundai, and today’s announcement by the automative manufacturer is the first unveiling of its official plans to bring CarPlay to market with its brand.
Hyundai says its 2015 Sonata will be available at dealerships in early summer this year. While pricing and availability specifics have yet to be unveiled, Hyundai’s CarPlay offering is expected to be considerably more affordable than other brands partnered including Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo.
The news comes just one day after Pioneer official announced it will bring CarPlay to a number of its existing 2014 in-dash systems through a firmware update. Ford, Toyota, and other automotive manufacturers are expected to unveil new products at the auto show as it continues through the month, although Honda is the only partner committed to CarPlay in 2014 (per Apple’s CarPlay site) without a compatible car announced.
HYUNDAI BRINGS APPLE CARPLAY INTO THE NEW 2015 SONATA NEW YORK, April 16, 2014 – Hyundai’s core interior design principles are safety, intuitiveness and simplicity. With these principles in mind, Hyundai will bring Apple® CarPlay functionality to the 2015 Sonata. CarPlay is the smarter, safer and easier way to use iPhone in the car and gives iPhone® users the features they want while allowing them to stay focused on the road.
Hyundai’s latest Audio Video Navigation (AVN) systems are already recognized for their beautiful, yet intuitive interface and advanced feature set. Our engineers took advantage of the vivid eight-inch touchscreen to integrate CarPlay for an experience that iPhone users will instantly recognize. A Sonata equipped with CarPlay, lets drivers have the ability to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages. With CarPlay, Siri provides drivers an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands and can be easily accessed directly through the Voice button on the steering wheel. Using a Lighting connector, CarPlay works with iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 running the latest version of iOS 7.
By integrating CarPlay into our core-volume Sonata, Hyundai is one of the first volume manufacturers to bring CarPlay to market and it will be available on 2015 Sonatas equipped with navigation later in the 2015 model year. For more information about CarPlay, visit: http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/.
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty, and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance. These services include Automatic Collision Notification, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Diagnostic Alert, Monthly Vehicle Health Report and in-vehicle service scheduling.
Read Hyundai’s full press release on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata here for all the details on its new car.
