Volkswagen and Infineon Find New Ways to Integrate the Telephone Into Cars

Infineon Technologies and Volkswagen have jointly developed a platform concept for wireless telecommunication and use of location-based information services in motor vehicles. The aim of the cooperation was to build a scalable telephone and telematics platform that additionally provides telematics functions for the price of an existing in-car telephone unit and so permits advanced information services that were previously the preserve primarily of the luxury car category to be used in all classes of vehicle. Volkswagen and Infineon intend marketing the platform as a manufacturer-independent solution by making it available to all interested automobile manufacturers and suppliers. Installing a platform that is standardized as far as possible across the industry will result in considerable cost savings, particularly with high-volume vehicle models. Differentiation will be provided by the application software, the functions offered, and also by the user interface and retention of the vehicle-specific interior design.