YouTube comes to Audi vehicles

• Drivers can view livestreaming, catch up on the news and enjoy creator’s content while charging or taking a travel break
• YouTube video playback will be directly accessible in the infotainment interface offering customers a new level of digital in-car experience
• Audi to be first Group brand to make video streaming available to customers, other brands to follow soon

Wolfsburg, July 31, 2023 –  CARIAD and YouTube are partnering to bring the world’s biggest video platform to customers of the Volkswagen Group brands. YouTube video playback is now available via the Group Application Store offering a smooth user experience and great usability. The video streaming will first come to select Audi models this summer, with other Group brands will follow.

More than 500 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute. From this month, drivers of select Audi models can directly access all of it via the YouTube App in their car’s infotainment interface.

Peter Bosch, CEO of CARIAD: “YouTube now feels like seamlessly built into the car turning waiting time into entertainment. And this is just the beginning, we will continuously expand the open ecosystem for our Group brands. With solutions like that, customers experience true value through software integration.”

Making charging stops more convenient and entertaining

Drivers can now make the most of charging stops, travel breaks or waiting by enjoying livestreaming, news or creator’s content. It works like the YouTube app on the smartphone. As soon as the user installs it from the store, it appears in the app grid and can be easily started by tapping it. In order to meet the high safety requirements of the Volkswagen Group and the respective brands, videos will only play when the vehicle is parked.

In addition, drivers who are also YouTube Premium members will be able to log in and watch ad-free content.

Group Application Store: an ever-growing ecosystem

YouTube will be the first video platform to be available for download via the Group Application Store, a uniform store platform for cars of the Volkswagen Group brands. CARIAD is working with HARMAN, a Samsung company, to create an open ecosystem with essential and popular apps that turn the car into a smart companion for drivers. In addition, the Volkswagen Group brands will integrate their own apps, such as online traffic light information or navigation services.

First, Audi will equip the model year 2024 Audi A4, A5, Q5, A6, A7, A8, Q8 e-tron and e-tron GT in Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico and Overseas markets with the new store. Later it will be rolled out to further models and regions as well as to other Volkswagen Group brands such as Porsche.