A few years ago, the American automaker General Motors (GM) announced that it would be phasing out support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software platform. It was a controversial decision, as many drivers who are in the market for a new vehicle consider CarPlay to be a must-have feature.
Looking to capitalize on the situation, one GM dealership near Detroit, Michigan last year partnered with a third party to offer an aftermarket CarPlay installation service in GM's newer EV models. But, according to a report this week from automotive blog The Drive (via The Verge), GM recently blocked the dealership from offering that service due to safety concerns.
"We have made the difficult decision to discontinue this product," said White Automotive & Media Services, on its website that previously offered the CarPlay installation service. "This was not a decision we made lightly, but due to a variety of factors, continuing to offer this product is no longer viable in the long term," it said.
A spokesperson for GM told The Drive that unapproved aftermarket services "could affect critical safety features," and pose other issues.
"Aftermarket services that introduce features not originally designed, thoroughly tested, and approved by GM may cause unintended issues for customers," the GM spokesperson said, in response to this matter. "These issues could affect critical safety features and may also void portions of the vehicle's warranty."
It is unclear if the aftermarket CarPlay system actually poses any safety issues, or if GM is simply unhappy that one dealership decided to go against the company's decision to focus on its own software platform. It is also unclear if customers who already had the installation service completed will be affected in any way.
Update: A source connected to GM told us that the aftermarket CarPlay installation impacted critical vehicle functions and vehicle performance, and they said that future software updates might break CarPlay functionality.
