CarPlay is a hot topic when choosing a new vehicle. For years, Volvo has been a big CarPlay supporter, and by the time Apple announced a “new CarPlay experience” was coming, the carmaker was touted as one of the brands that would be part of the now-known CarPlay Ultra experience.
However, with the official release of CarPlay Ultra in 2025, several players that were on board to support it eventually had withdrawn claims, per industry insiders. While some vehicle makers are completely dropping CarPlay support, the infotainment system created by Apple continues as one of the best options available in the market, especially if you don’t own a Tesla or a Rivian.
Still, if you’re a Volvo driver, you shouldn’t worry about the brand dropping support for Apple CarPlay for now. Volvo’s Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Anders Bell said in an interview that the carmaker refuses to force drivers to do something, and it will continue to support the basic CarPlay experience, while still boosting the vehicle’s native experience.
Volvo to focus on its own system, but CarPlay and Android Auto will still exist
Speaking to The Drive, Anders bells said that it will continue to implement CarPlay to its vehicles, including future EVs. “It’s kind of part of our mentality on this. We want to integrate it to your digital life, not force you to something. So, we need to adapt to you, whatever your digital ecosystem is as a customer, you make your choices,” Bell said.
The executive touts that Volvo will continue to develop its own system, and even add Apple experiences to it, such as the recently released native Apple Music app. However, the brand doesn’t plan to stop offering CarPlay or Android Auto. “I think our job will always be we want to be providing the best absolutely native experience we can. But if you want to have Android Auto, or if you want to have Apple CarPlay, we should have the best supremely good integration,” the executive said.
This mentality is different from GM, which is dropping support for CarPlay and Android Auto in new vehicles. Besides that, other companies like Tesla are rumored to work in a possible CarPlay integration, while Rivian’s CEO continue to state that it will never offer Apple’s experience. That said, Volvo didn’t say anything about CarPlay Ultra in that interview, and it’s unclear how many brands are actually working with Apple to support this new experience. Carmakers seem increasingly focused on using proprietary software instead.
