VW Will Be First to Offer Amazon Alexa

Volkswagen says it will be the first automaker to offer Amazon’s Alexa smart home system to its vehicles.

Although Ford, Hyundai, and BMW offer Alexa via a smartphone app that can be run through the car, VW wants to offer the service through the car’s own infotainment system.

Alexa users can control their smarthome through their smartauto to change the temperature, for instance. Working in concert with VW’s own “next gen” voice commands, people will soon talk more to their cars than to their children.

“We have several that we programmed that customers can choose from,” said Volkmar Tanneberger, head of VW electronics development. “So you can say for example ‘Hey Buddy, ask Alexa how warm is it at home?’ and then it channels the command through to Alexa and Alexa reports back that it’s 20 degrees.”

The biggest advantage of having the app work through the car, though, is that users can also ask their home about the state of the car. You could, for example, ask Alexa about how much gas is in the car.

[source: Automotive News]

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