Stellantis will integrate TuneIn directly into the infotainment systems of selected future vehicles through a global agreement announced on September 24. The service will give drivers access to streaming radio stations, news, music, sports and podcasts without requiring them to open the app on a smartphone. Stellantis has not yet named the models that will receive the feature or said when the rollout will begin.
Future Stellantis models will get built-in TuneIn streaming
Drivers who listen to a station through TuneIn will be able to search for it on the vehicle’s display and control playback through the car’s built-in interface. Stingray, which owns the platform, also highlights features that let users pause a program and switch between different types of content. Those functions represent the main practical changes announced so far. The companies have not shown the Stellantis-specific interface or explained whether it will support voice search or personal profiles synchronized across devices.
TuneIn’s catalog includes more than 100,000 local, national and international radio stations. Internet streaming allows listeners to keep following a station even outside its normal broadcast area, which could help travelers who want to listen to a station from their home country while abroad. Streaming still requires a data connection, however, and neither company has explained which connectivity solution the vehicles will use or whether Stellantis will include the cost of data access.
TuneIn also offers sports programming, podcasts and music channels, but the size of its overall catalog does not mean every piece of content will come at no extra cost. The platform also operates a Premium subscription service with content reserved for paying users. The agreement does not yet explain which features Stellantis owners will receive for free or whether an existing TuneIn subscription will work through the integrated app.
Stingray says TuneIn has more than 75 million monthly active users and reaches more than 200 connected devices and services. The app already appears in vehicles from 14 automotive brands. Those figures describe TuneIn’s broader reach, while the newly announced agreement applies only to a selection of future Stellantis models.
Stellantis has not yet revealed which brands will take part in the first phase, which markets will receive the service first or when the launch will happen. Drivers will get a clearer picture once the group demonstrates the in-car app and explains how access to free and paid content will work.
