In-Car Infotainment Market (2024–2030): A Researcher-Style Deep Dive into Growth Drivers, Architecture Shifts & Competitive Dynamics

Infotainment systems in-car (ICI) have transformed greatly over the past couple of years. What started as a head unit, which could handle the audio player, navigation, and some other little features, has now evolved into a digital cockpit. This shift is driven by the adoption of electric vehicles, connectivity, and software-defined vehicles (SDVs). These days, the infotainment system is connected with everything like a car computing, AI-based voice assistants, the cloud, app platforms, and multiple screens in the car. This blog will talk in detail about the ICI market, its size, future, innovations (such as the copilot with GenAI, Android Automotive OS, and OTAs), trends, market, and the future competitors of the ICI market by the end of 2030.

Why In-Car Infotainment Became a Strategic Market?

Historically, infotainment was seen as a comfort feature optional in vehicles (FM radio, CD player, basic navigation). However, in the SDV era, infotainment in vehicles represents the following:

• A data and software layer within the car.
• An essential key to customer retention.
• A monetization surface (subscriptions/services)
• High-value component within the EV ecosystems: charging, energy, and navigation intelligence.

The infotainment system in:

• Multi-screen cockpit UX
• Voice Assistant + AI
• Connectivity (4G/5G)
• Cloud Streaming Services
• Vehicle apps
• OTA Updates

Integration with ADAS visuals and driver monitoring (DMS) Infotainment is presently the front end of automotive software identity. “The increased complexity of automotive systems

What Exactly is “In-Car Infotainment”?

In-car infotainment can be defined as the end-to-end hardware software service chain supporting digital information, entertainment, and interactions within vehicles. This comprises head unit or cockpit computer hardware (SoC solution, display solution, audio DSP solution, and input controllers) as well as software (AAOS/QNX/Linux software, UI solution, voice assistants solution, and over-the-air solution approaches).

With SDV system architectures, the trend is to increasingly incorporate infotainment functions within the centralized domain controllers for vehicle cockpits. This implies that infotainment will no longer be operating as a standalone system but will instead be part of the base layers for the vehicle software infrastructure.

Technology Trends Reshaping In-Car Infotainment (2025–2030)

The infotainment system is no longer just about music and navigation. Between 2025 and 2030, it’s evolving into something much bigger, the digital brain and personality of the car. Here are the key technology shifts driving this transformation:

GenAI + Conversational Cockpit: Car Becomes a Co-Pilot

Infotainment is moving from being a touchscreen dashboard to becoming a conversation-based AI co-pilot. Instead of clicking through menus, drivers will just talk naturally, like:

• Find me a route with minimum charging stops.
• Summarize my driving efficiency this week.
• Book a service appointment for next Monday.
• Why is my EV range lower today?
• Explain this warning message in simple words.

This kind of intelligence doesn’t just improve comfort, it changes user expectations completely.
A great GenAI cockpit becomes a major UX differentiator, and once users get used to it, they don’t want to switch brands. That’s where the real business value comes in data-driven personalization + customer lock-in.

Android Automotive OS vs CarPlay/Android Auto: The Platform War

A silent platform battle is happening inside cars and it will decide who controls the “home screen” of the future vehicle.

There are two major approaches:

Approach A: Phone Projection: This is what most people already know

• Apple CarPlay
• Android Auto

It’s easy, familiar, and users love it because it feels like their phone.

Approach B: Embedded In-Car OS: This is where OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) are shifting

• Android Automotive OS (AAOS)
• QNX
• Linux

This approach runs directly inside the vehicle, which means the car is not borrowing the phone experience.

Why OEMs are pushing embedded OS?

Because whoever controls the embedded infotainment platform can control:

• Customer Experience
• In-car app Ecosystem
• Subscriptions and Monetization
• Vehicle Data Access (within privacy limits)

Example: General Motors (GM) has openly moved toward an Android-based in-car platform, reducing support for Apple CarPlay/Android Auto in some upcoming models.

Android Auto is Getting Bigger Than Music + Maps

Android Auto is also evolving rapidly. It’s no longer limited to navigation and Spotify-style use cases; it’s slowly expanding toward:

• Richer In-Car apps
• Video Streaming (for parked/supported modes)
• Browser-Based Experiences
• Stronger Third-Party Integration

What this means for the market?

Infotainment is becoming less like Car Electronics and more like a mobile ecosystem running on wheels.

Centralized Cockpit Controllers: The Architecture Shift Everyone Must Follow

But in the background, there is one very significant technological change taking place,

Infotainment is shifting from many little ECUs to one strong central computing platform. Rather than providing different units for handling the display for the respective clusters, infotainment, and for the passenger displays, today’s cars are:

• Cockpit Domain Controllers
• Shared Compute Infrastructure for Multi-Screen experiences
• Virtualization to support multiple environments for operation of various OS safely (cluster + infotainment separation).

 Why this trend is game-changing?

• Because it will affect the whole sector:
• Suppliers are forced to rethink and redefine their approach toward integration
• The market for chips requiring high-performance SoCs experiences sharp growth.
• The operating system and the middleware layer, therefore, become very
• Cybersecurity needs increase (More connections mean greater vulnerability)

Essentially: The cockpit is beginning to look like a computer. not a car component.

Competitive Landscape: Who Really Controls the Profit Pool?

The infotainment ecosystem isn’t controlled by one player; it’s a layered battle. And the biggest shift is this:

Profit is moving away from head units and toward chips, software platforms, and connected services.

Chip & Platform Giants: The New Power Players

In the SDV era, whoever controls the compute platform becomes the real enabler of infotainment.

A key example is Qualcomm, which has positioned itself as a major cockpit platform provider through Snapdragon Digital Chassis.

• Qualcomm stated at CES 2024 that 350+ million vehicles are on the road using Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions.
• The company also targets automotive revenue reaching ~$8B by FY29 (corporate target).

Infotainment is becoming a semiconductor-led platform market, not just an electronics market.

Tier-1 Suppliers: Still Critical, But Evolving

Traditional Tier-1 companies remain essential because they handle integration + reliability, especially at OEM scale.

Leading Tier-1s include:

• Bosch
• Continental
• Harman (Samsung)
• Panasonic Automotive
• Denso
• Aptiv

They mainly compete on:

• OEM Integration Capability
• Deep Automotive Compliance
• UI/Feature Customization
• Safety + Cybersecurity Readiness

OEM Strategy: Control the UI = Control the Customer

OEMs now realize infotainment is not just a feature, it’s their customer relationship platform.

That’s why they want:

• More control over In-Car Apps/Services
• Less Dependence on Apple/Google Ecosystems
• Subscription Revenue Opportunities
• Access to user Data (within privacy rules)

Think of infotainment like the smartphone home screen:

whoever owns it controls attention, behaviour, and future revenue.

Segment	Description	Share (%)
Chips & Compute Platforms	SoCs, cockpit controllers	30%
Software Platforms & Apps	OS, UI/UX, app ecosystem	25%
Connected Services	Subscriptions, data services	25%
Tier-1 Integration & Hardware	Displays, audio, systems integration	20%

Future Trends in In-Car Infotainment

Infotainment will become AI-first, meaning the car won’t just show information, it will understand intent. Instead of clicking menus, drivers will talk naturally and the cockpit AI will respond like a co-pilot. For example, plan a route with minimum charging stops or why is my EV range down today? The system will use weather, driving history, traffic, and battery data to explain and suggest actions.

The market will also see a major platform war: OEMs will prefer embedded infotainment systems (AAOS, QNX, Linux/AGL) rather than depending only on phone projection (CarPlay/Android Auto). For example, some OEMs are moving toward full Android-based in-car platforms to control their UI and services. This matters because controlling infotainment is like controlling the smartphone home screen, it controls customer attention and future revenue.

Next, cockpit systems will move to centralized computing, meaning multiple displays (cluster + infotainment + passenger screens) will run on a single powerful cockpit domain controller instead of separate ECUs. For example, one high-performance chip running infotainment + digital cluster through virtualization, improving performance and enabling features like ultra-wide screens and smoother UI.

Another strong trend is the shift from hardware sales to subscriptions and connected services. Infotainment will become a long-term earning platform through premium features. For example, paid navigation, entertainment bundles, cloud driver profiles, or AI driving efficiency reports and predictive maintenance alerts.

Finally, cybersecurity becomes critical because infotainment is the most connected part of the vehicle (apps, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, OTA). For example, future cars will require secure OTA updates, encrypted communication, and protection against malware or data leakage, otherwise OEMs risk recalls and customer trust loss.

Year	Focus	Key Output
2025	Embedded OS + multi-screen + OTA	Digital Cockpit
2026	Voice assistant + AI personalization + Cybersecurity	Digital Cockpit
2027	Cockpit domain controllers + Virtualization	Compute Cockpit
2028	Subscriptions + App ecosystem + Advanced OTA	Compute Cockpit
2029	GenAI copilots + Conversational cockpit	Connected Services
2031-2034	App stores + Unified intelligence + Continuous updates	AI Cockpit Assistant