MTS wants to steer – Newspaper Kommersant No. 19 (7464) dated 02/02/2023
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MTS in 2023 will start production in the Russian Federation of a touch-screen multimedia system with navigation for cars. Previously, such devices were produced by Yandex, but stopped selling them. Systems from MTS are being tested by Sollers and Motorinvest, and the latter is even talking about their serial use. But Kommersant’s sources claim that the operation of devices based on the Navitel service still leaves much to be desired – the system does not immediately connect and freezes.
A Kommersant source in the IT market said that this year MTS will launch the production of multimedia systems for cars in Tver. According to him, the company plans to produce more than 10 thousand devices a year, supplying them to domestic and Chinese automakers. Components are purchased from China. What kind of capacities in Tver are we talking about, the interlocutor of Kommersant does not specify. A year ago, a large electronics manufacturer Aquarius launched a tablet assembly plant in the city (see Kommersant dated March 31, 2022). They claim that they did not receive offers from MTS, but are ready to ensure the serial production of such systems.
Multimedia systems are usually supplied with the car as an option, but there are also separately installed devices. Such systems can run on Linux, a modified version of Android, or a specific operating system designed for embedded solutions (Windows CE, QNX, webOS). Some systems support projecting navigation and music apps from your phone, but this requires certification from Apple or Google.
According to Kommersant’s sources in the auto parts market, the MTS system can run either on Linux, which will limit its functionality, or on Linux combined with Android if it receives Google certification: “It will have a touch screen on which you can set up music, navigation, air conditioning system, etc. In addition, Android or iPhone smartphones must be connected to the system.”
According to SPARK-Interfax, MTS already has a 100% subsidiary, MTS Auto LLC, registered in 2015. Denis Smirnov, who also heads Coagent Rus LLC (since 2020, is part of MTS Auto, is engaged in the wholesale trade of auto parts), and also has a 51% stake in Di Wai Technologies LLC (produces electronic equipment for vehicles) . According to the register of declarations of conformity of the EAEU, in August 2022, Coagent Rus issued documents for the import of 120 “car multifunctional radio tape recorders” from China. In October, MTS bought out Navitel, a developer of navigation systems for cars. The revenue of MTS Auto LLC for 2021 amounted to 734 million rubles, net profit – 67 million rubles.
Director of the Association “Consortium of enterprises in the field of automotive electronic devices and telematics” Dmitry Kornachev knows about the plans of MTS to produce multimedia systems. According to him, now there are no such decisions in the Russian Federation: “The Yandex project with their tablet was not so timely, so the company decided not to develop the direction.” MTS and Yandex declined to comment.
MTS has already tried to enter this market: in September 2019, the company sold retail devices on the Yandex.Auto platform under its own brand. They were available for installation in Lada, Toyota, Volkswagen, etc., however, in 2020, support for the devices ended. Systems on Yandex.Auto were produced in China by the structure of the French group Faurecia. Now the software platform “Yandex. Auto” is used in Yandex.Drive carsharing.
Apparently, the new MTS project is aimed primarily at the conveyor. So, in Sollers (produces cars under the brand name of the same name and UAZ), Kommersant was told that they were already actively testing and “considering the introduction of MTS Auto solutions into their cars.” Motorinvest (manufacturer of Evolute electric vehicles) even stated that the MTS system is already being installed in series on the Evolute i-PRO electric vehicle.
However, Kommersant’s interlocutor in the IT market assures that the first tests of the devices were unsuccessful: “The system does not immediately connect to the smartphone, and the desktop interface constantly freezes.” According to him, the most successful solution in terms of navigation on the market so far remains the offer of Yandex, Navitel finds it difficult to compete with it in terms of service quality and cartographic completeness.
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