In fact, until Hyundai launched cars like the Genesis and Equus they didn't even compete in the same market segment. Yet a new deal between the two automakers and technical leaders Broadcom, NXP, Freescale and Harman means the two companies will work together on the future of in-vehicle networking technology.
The OPEN (One-Pair Ether-Net) alliance is known as the SIG, or 'Special Interest Group'. The companies will work towards creating state-of-the-art technology for future vehicles, enhancing safety, comfort and infotainment while reducing complexity and cost.
Broadcom's 'BroadR-Reach' technology will be central to much of the systems, with 100 Mbps bandwidth through unshielded cabling reducing cost and weight while delivering high-speed data transfer throughout the car.
Though Hyundai and BMW are unlikely to share details of their actual information systems, the technology partnership will allow their future vehicles to become increasingly high-tech without becoming too complicated or expensive, delivering more advanced infotainment than ever before.
The technology should underpin the next generation of BMW ConnectedDrive vehicles.
