The global chip shortage is forcing BMW to ship its vehicles without Android Auto and CarPlay
The ongoing semiconductor shortage has already led to cancelations and delays of many smartphones. However, the crunch is not just limited to mobile devices; it’s affecting every other major industry and consumer electronic products. In fact, many automobile makers were forced totemporarily shut down their factoriesfor a few weeks at a time due to the lack of chips. The situation has now gotten so bad that BMW is shipping its vehicles to customers withoutAndroid Autoand CarPlay functionality in its infotainment system and no built-in Wi-Fi in selected countries.
The German automobile maker has been forced to change its chip supplier due to the semiconductor crunch. The problem is that the new chips are currently not certified for Android Auto and CarPlay, so the company has had to temporarily remove the feature from its vehicles manufactured since the start of 2022. To avoid further delays, BMW is shipping these vehicles to customers with the missing functionality. These cars have reportedly been delivered to customers in the United States, the UK, Spain, Italy, and France. BMW did not explicitly confirm which vehicles are missing the features, but it seems that cars with “6P1” in their production code are the ones that ship without Android Auto and CarPlay.
The good news is that the automobile maker has confirmed toAutomotive News Europe(viaEngadget) that it will be rolling out a software update by the “end of June at the latest” to restore Android Auto, CarPlay, and Wi-Fi functionality on affected vehicles. WhileAndroid Auto is certainly not perfect, it is far better than your car’s built-in infotainment system.
The report further details that unlike BMW, Mercedes-Benz is shipping its vehicles without certain chips altogether. The automaker will inform affected customers once the chips are eventually in stock so that they can have them installed in their cars from a nearby service station. Other car makers, including Tesla, General Motors, and Ford, have been affected by the chip shortage and have had to remove various features from their vehicles.
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