In 2023, General Motors decided to make a curious commitment: their future electric vehicles would not feature CarPlay.
Those of us with brains on the outside thought this decision quite curious,
but it was limited to future electric cars only. While still dumb, at least
they weren’t actively taking away from what was already on the market.
Just shy of a year ago, GM CEO Mary Barra extended this lunacy
edict to include all future internal combusion vehicles as well.
Unsurprisingly, this did not end well:
The backlash was immediate, and the data was brutal. Surveys at the time found 79% of new-car buyers would only consider a vehicle that offered CarPlay, and that it was available on 98% of new cars sold. Dealers warned buyers would simply walk to a rival showroom.
Welp, look who did an about face after realizing they scored a tremendous own-goal:
This week [GM] unveiled a new infotainment interface, debuting on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, that folds smartphone projection back into the dashboard and runs alongside GM’s native system.
✅ Most new cars, at all sorts of price points
✅ Boats
✅ 🆕 GM vehicles [again]
✅ 🆕 Showers
❌ Rivian
You’re leaving money on the table, Wassym. I promise: it doesn’t have to be this way. CarPlay is additive, after all.