Picture credit: Google

Google is set to be the major beneficiary of a deal involving the installation of its Android mobile operating system in General Motors vehicles.

In its latest earnings call, Harman International Industries CEO Dinesh Paliwal revealed that the company, which won a won a $900 million contract from General Motors in 2012 to supply a next-generation infotainment system, will be based on Android.

The deal is a serious coup for Google as the connected car industry becomes another area where its Android mobile operating system will do battle with Apple’s own vehicle-based implementation CarPlay, an offshoot of iOS.

Apple involvement

Google may have nailed down its involvement with GM through intermediary Harman, but Paliwal also hinted that there would be some level of involvement from Apple once the infotainment equipment company’s app store gets off the ground.

“As you would expect, this next-generation infotainment solution will enable an app store, which [would] allow this infotainment system to stay technologically relevant over the life cycle of the vehicle,” he said.

“Apps will be developed by General Motors, Harman and [a] bunch of other third parties, not just Google and Apple.”

Agnostic infotainment

One of the key differences between the infotainment company and a car manufacturer is that Harman can take a more agnostic approach to vehicle installations, whereas car manufacturers had to design their car for a particular ecosystem.

Paliwal pointed to the far east where there is a completely different playing field compared to much of western Europe and North America, saying that it would be wise not to place too much emphasis on either Google or Apple.

“In case many of you may not be aware of, Baidu in China has the largest search engine in the world, ahead of Google. So let's not forget the big guys coming up from China, India and other places. So there'll be at least ten of these who we have to work with, not just Apple and Google,” he continued.

Harman will be hoping that the GM contract gives it a foothold in the car industry and provides the catalyst for more manufacturer partnerships after it reported a drop in both net sales and operating income for the fiscal 2013 period.