Chevrolet today announced that it will be adding data and an app store to many of its 2015 model vehicles.
Chevrolet’s “AppShop” will start appearing in the company’s Corvette, Equinox, Impala, Malibu, Volt, and Silverado vehicles this summer. The store will be accessed through a touchscreen in vehicle dashboards. Through it, customers will be able to download a variety of apps including those for music, weather, news, and in-vehicle diagnostics. Specific apps already announced for the AppShop include The Weather Channel, NPR, Slacker Radio, and iHeartRadio.
“We listen to our customers, and they want more choices like they have with their smartphones,” said Alan Batey, SVP of Global Chevrolet. “They’re telling us they want more integration, more options, and more control in a safe manner. Chevrolet AppShop is an in-vehicle information resource that allows our drivers to customize and refine their experiences from their Chevrolet.”
To access the AppShop Chevy customers will need to take advantage of the 4G LTE capabilities that Chevy will be putting into these same vehicles. The data will be a part of Chevy’s OnStar service, and customers will have to sign up for a data plan to take advantage of it.
Chevy is touting its new data offerings and app store as a feature that will save drivers from having to engage with their smartphones while driving. Whether or not a dashboard full of apps is any less distracting than a smartphone, Chevy drivers will soon be able to have a limited app-like experience built into their vehicles.
“At General Motors, we are trying to minimize driver distractions through the use of technology,” said Phil Abram, chief infotainment officer at GM. “In addition to AppShop, Chevrolet offers features like text-to-voice and smartphone voice pass-through integration to create a safer driving environment.”