Amazon's personal digital assistant is poised to hitch a ride on Toyota and Lexus cars. Alexa will soon become an integral feature of select Toyota vehicles.
This was announced by the Japanese carmaker at the CES 2018 this week. The company said it will work with Amazon and the partnership will see Alexa finding her way to a number of Toyota and Lexus car models to hit the road this year.
New Toyota And Lexus Vehicles Get Ready Access To Amazon Alexa
For starters, Toyota will equip an initial batch of Toyota and Lexus vehicles with Toyota Entune 3.0 App Suite and Lexus Enform App Suite 2.0. The additional car features will give car owners ready access to Alexa and make use of the services that the digital bot is programmed to dispense.
"Voice services are rapidly becoming more popular and through our integration with Amazon Alexa, Toyota and Lexus customers will soon be able to easily speak to Alexa in their cars while on-the-go," said Zack Hicks, senior vice president for Toyota Motor North America.
According to the company, Alexa riding with Toyota and Lexus car owners will open doors of possibilities to the latter, and allow them to carry out tasks even on the road.
Driving And Working Smart
Amazon said Alexa on Toyota vehicles is a realization of the company's long-term vision for the intelligent voice assistant.
"Our vision for Alexa is that she should be everywhere a customer might need her - at home, in the office, on phones - and in cars. This integration means that customers can interact with Alexa, virtually anywhere they drive," explained John Scumniotales, head of product for Amazon Alexa Automotive.
Speaking for Toyota at the CES 2018, Scumniotales said Alexa running the show while a Toyota or a Lexus is cruising on the road will make for a more natural and safer driving experience. Alexa will give the convenience of doing things hands-free, like getting road directions and playing music tracks while keeping the driver's eyes on the road all the time.
In addition, Alexa's capabilities extend beyond the vehicle and the bot's skill set also boasts of the ability to plan ahead. For instance, a driver assisted by Alexa can get things going while on the way home. If the house is linked with Alexa, the car owner can set the temperature in advance for a homier ambiance. Also, Alexa is ready to swing open the garage door once prompted upon arrival.
Toyota is not the first carmaker to integrate Alexa. Prior to the company's announcement, BMW and Ford have revealed of upcoming plans to include the Amazon digital assistant on their roster of car features.
