Jaguar Land Rover has added Alexa voice control to its vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover has announced Amazon Alexa will be available on its new and existing Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to allow drivers to enjoy voice-enabled experiences while their hands are safely on the wheel.

Jaguars and Land Rovers equipped with the Pivi Pro infotainment system will receive an over-the-air software update to enable Alexa in their vehicles.

Owners will receive an in-vehicle notification via their vehicle’s touchscreen when the Alexa update is ready to install.

And all new Jaguar I-PACE all-electric SUV models with Pivi Pro will come with Alexa pre-installed.

The engineering teams from Jaguar Land Rover an Amazon have been working together closely to ensure the integration of Alexa with the Pivi Pro is seamless.

Customers will be able to enjoy the same Alexa experience they know and love in their home, but now in their vehicle.

With Alexa, drivers will have voice control of everything from navigation to music, including Spotify, as well as being able able to answer their calls, access audiobooks, news and weather.

The Alexa voice experience is intuitive and easy to use while drivers are keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

A driver could say, for example, “Alexa, drive me home” to start the journey home or “Alexa, play my chill out playlist” or “Alexa, show me nearby coffee shops” without the need to touch the Pivi Pro’s touch screen.

And if you have connected smart lights in your home, you will also be able to turn them on as you pull into your driveway from the car.

The Drop-In feature means you can use Alexa in your car to connect to devices in your home.

For example, you can connect to your home from the car to an echo device simply by saying “Alexa, drop into the kitchen Echo Show”.

Busy families can also add items to their shopping list, set reminders and activate a playlist.

For busy professionals, they can connect their Gmail or work email to Alexa and be able to ask for their schedule as well as setting reminders for deadlines or work commitments.

“The seamless integration of Amazon Alexa with our Pivi Pro infotainment system gives customers simple, intuitive voice control of regularly used features, making the driving experience even more enjoyable,” says Alex Heslop, Director of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover.

“The fact we can also offer this new feature to existing customers proves the value of our software-over-the-air-updates.

“Being first to market in Australia with in-car Alexa integration is an achievement that everybody in my team is incredibly proud of.”