$1.67 Billion in Revenue from Automotive App Downloads by 2018

ABI Research forecasts that the number of automotive apps downloaded in cars will jump from around 12 million at end of 2012 to 4.3 billion at end of 2018 generating revenues of $1.67 billion globally.

Although connected cars have been on the market for several years, pioneered by platforms such as GM’s OnStar and Ford’s SYNC, their growth has been relatively modest and car companies have struggled to generate revenues from monthly subscriptions.

“Car OEMs now increasingly see infotainment as a key differentiator in their cars,” comments Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research. “We predict a sharp growth in the adoption of connected car infotainment systems over the next few years, with apps being the main driver, as for the iPhone.”

With several proprietary, open standard, and open source systems vying to become the de-facto technology for downloading apps in the car, the battle for domination of the automotive app space is heating up, as car OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, plus behemoths such as Apple and Google maneuver to capture the biggest slice of the automotive app cake.

ABI Research also expects a sharp rise in Bluetooth in cars driven by growth in adoption of connected car infotainment systems. Consumers already use their phones extensively to listen to music or connect with social media sites. As Bluetooth becomes more prevalent in cars, they will be able to make hands-free calls, listen to Pandora or Spotify, or check their Facebook accounts in their vehicles, or on their phones, in a completely seamless manner.

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Automotive Infotainment Research Service. ABI Research’s automotive infotainment database provides detailed installed base and forecasts of the car infotainment market. New data added in this release include detailed Market Data about Bluetooth penetration in cars (global shipments split by region, installed base) and by category (separate hands-free units versus integrated infotainment units). The database also includes detailed forecasts of automotive app downloads and revenues split by region.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.