The goal of this partnership is to make it possible to optimally serve the requirements and standards of the automotive industry at any time.
Microsoft auto platform, a general-purpose in-car software technology, will help Siemens VDO to fully concentrate on its key competencies of system design, vehicle integration, driver assistance systems and safety systems. Siemens VDO will also be able to actively help shape Microsoft auto and license platform-compliant applications, such as navigation functions, for third-party suppliers.
The first milestone in the collaboration is a multimedia platform that Siemens VDO is developing based on Microsoft auto. This platform will make it possible to integrate functions and portable consumer electronics devices more closely into the vehicle as soon as 2009.
Martin Thall, general manager of the automotive business unit at Microsoft, said: We are pleased that Siemens VDO has chosen Microsoft as their software partner. The extremely flexible and modular nature of the Microsoft Auto platform makes it perfectly suited to provide a range of innovative infotainment solutions that transform the driving experience by connecting drivers seamlessly to the people, information and entertainment they care about while they are on the road.
