Renault-Nissan Teams up with Microsoft for Pursuing Connected Driving

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has teamed up with Microsoft to strengthen the company’s expertise in connected driving. The global, multiyear agreement between the two entities will see them collaborating on next-generation technologies to further advance connected driving in future models produced by the Alliance.

The next-generation cars produced by the Renault-Nissan Alliance will be powered by Microsoft Azure, which is one of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud offerings. Customers will benefit from features like remote monitoring of car features, predictive maintenance, advanced navigation, vehicle centric services, external mobile experiences and over-the-air updates.

Speaking about the partnership, Ogi Redzic, Renault-Nissan Alliance senior vice-president, Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services said that cars are becoming increasingly connected, intelligent and personal. He said the alliance with Microsoft will provide Renault-Nissan with access to key technologies that customers need and all-new technologies that they are likely to enjoy in the future. He said that the company’s aim is to emerge as a provider of connected mobility for everyone with one single global platform.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has made great strides in incorporating connectivity features and pioneering autonomous driving. The company’s goal is to provide them in mainstream, mass-market production vehicles at affordable prices and launch at least ten vehicles with autonomous driving technology by 2020 so that motorists can make better use of the time they spend commuting.

Through these new connectivity features, Renault-Nissan customers will be able to stay connected while on the go and can also benefit from vehicle centric services that will help them to keep their vehicle in better shape through usage-based information, remote access, remote diagnostics and preventive maintenance

Microsoft Azure will provide them with a proven, secure global cloud platform having unlimited scale to deliver services on a global basis.

Renault-Nissan opted for Azure on the basis of its enterprise-grade security and Microsoft’s rigorous commitment to compliance. Azure is also compatible with multiple operating systems, programming languages and tools, thus giving users more flexibility and choice to build a common platform for Renault-Nissan to deploy services to both Alliance brands.

Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, Microsoft reaffirmed his belief that the connected car experience offers plenty of potential to dramatically change the industry. He said Microsoft would be able to accelerate Renault-Nissan’s mobile and cloud strategies thus opening up new experiences for their customers. Renault-Nissan has a global presence and a wide range of brands, thus giving it the capability to bring entirely new mobile and digital experiences to numerous people.

Some of the next-generation technologies that Microsoft and trhe Renault-Nissan Alliance will work on together include:

Personalization and protection of settings: Customers will be able to customize their settings and transfer their data from one car to another while knowing that their data is safe. They will also be able to lock the settings and disable transfer. This will enable features like adaptive route suggestions and advanced navigation.

Productivity: With the addition of better connectivity and greater advancement of autonomous technology, customers will be able to make better use of their time in the car by seamlessly integrating the digital experiences present at work and life into the car.

Better access to over-the-air updates: Customers will be able to download over-the-air updates for features like the latest autonomous drive software and collision-avoidance applications.

Help customers stay in touch: Customers will be able to stay in touch while on the go by getting access to their social media channels. They will  also be able to use automatic payment from the car for highway tolls or parking, with just a simple touch.

Monitor the car from a distance: Car owners will be able to monitor their car remotely, either through their mobile phone or laptop. They can also transfer control of the car to designated friends and relatives without transferring physical keys through a mobile application that can help them to find the car, can trigger remote charging and preconditioning and lock and unlock the car.

Protect the vehicle: Tracking software can be used to locate a stolen car and disable it. “Geofencing” technology can be used to create invisible fences around the car that will enable notifications when the car enters or exits a predefined area or route.

Improve the vehicle experience: By adding connectivity, customers will be able to have access to advance vehicle diagnostic services, allowing the car manufacturer to deliver unique features. Collecting real usage data will also support vehicle engineering to improve manufacturing quality.