Jaguar Land Rover and Amazon team up to add Alexa functionality to the luxury car

Jaguar and Amazon have teamed up so drivers of the luxury brand can now control home lights and air conditioners from the steering wheel.

Jaguar Land Rover and Amazon have got together to add Alexa functionality to the car maker’s electric I-Pace sedan. That includes the ability to control your smart home from afar with a simple nudge of the steering wheel, followed by a voice command.

JRL says the deal with Amazon is an Australian first. It’s part of an increased rollout of more sophisticated infotainment systems in EVs and some high end cars. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, where users bring the functionality of their smartphones to cars, are common. Apple says 80 per cent of new cars sold use CarPlay, Google this year said 150 million cars used Android Auto.

Last year Volvo EV offshoot Polestar became the first car maker to install a complete Google operated car management system in the Polestar 2. Integration with the car’s functions means Google can tell you how much battery you have left and even whether your car has enough charge to reach your proposed destination when using Google Maps.

JLR is adding Amazon Alexa functionality in an upgrade to its Pivi Pro operating system, and Jag’s I-Pace EV and Land Rover vehicles are the first to get it. The carmaker says that in February, more than 1300 existing owners of compatible models in Australia will get Alexa via a software over-the-air update, and new models will have Alexa built in.

I tried the new Alexa functionality in the I-Pace. The car retails for $142,580 plus on-the-road costs.

I’d press a small button on the steering wheel to summon Alexa, and from afar, would ask her to turn on and off nominated lights at home, as well as the internet connected air conditioning system. I could switch on anything connected to Alexa.

This exercise may seem a journey down a geek cul-de-sac for some, but it can be useful to have certain lights switched on when you roll up the driveway late at night, or the air conditioner on ahead of you returning home on a scorching summer day. You can double check that everything is switched off when you leave too. You could be in another part of the country doing this.

Sure, it’s possible to achieve some of this remote functionality using electric timers or your location, but you may not have pre-programmed all the scenarios where you really need to operate home lights, accessories and connected appliances from afar.

I could check that Alexa worked properly remotely by viewing my rooms at home equipped with Arlo security cameras using the Arlo app. I could watch the lights come on and off.

Jaguar Land Rover’s infotainment system now includes Amazon Alexa activated from the steering wheel.

Alexa will perform actions in the car as well as your home. I could say ‘Alexa, navigate me to home’ or ‘where are the closest charging stations’, and ‘show me nearby coffee shops’. I added a calendar appointment, composed a shopping list, received weather forecasts and played tracks from Spotify using voice commands triggered from the steering wheel.

Alexa communicates between the car and your home via your phone and you need to link your Jaguar and Alexa accounts for this to work.

JLR’s move means the three main voice assistant systems: Apple Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa, are now in cars.

I-Pace includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and its own smart features. Users can set the desired start and ending times for charging to take advantage of reduced rate tariffs.

There is also privacy. I later discovered that Alexa had recorded some of my chitchat when I was driving. I located the recordings in the Alexa app on my phone. You can delete voice and smart home device history in the Alexa app privacy settings, but the fact Alexa records conversations in homes and cars will be problematic for some drivers.

Nevertheless JLR in Australia is bullish about the new features. “Being first to market in Australia with in-car Alexa integration is an achievement that everybody in my team is incredibly proud of,” says Alex Heslop, director of electrical and electronic engineering, Jaguar Land Rover.

Testing Amazon Alexa on a Jaguar I-Pace sedan EV.