Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa can now be used to unlock a Nissan car remotely

Owners of Nissan will soon be able to access their car by asking Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa to unlock the vehicle for them.

Certain Nissan models made between 2016 and 2018 will be equipped with the technology that will allow drivers to tell Alexa to carry out tasks such as flashing the lights, unlocking the car remotely and honking the horn.

It works in vehicles that have NissanConnect Services’s telematics system, the Japanese manufacturer’s in-car software. Users will need a subscription to this.

Later this month, users can download a new Alexa skill called NissanConnect Services in the Amazon Skills Store. A skill is similar to an app, but is specific to Alexa. Once this is downloaded, Alexa will be able to control some of the car functions.

Amazon has been striking deals with automakers to bring Alexa to cars. Last month, BMW said Alexa capabilities will be in some of its cars from 2018.

While Amazon missed out on the smartphone wave, it is now vying to be a major player in the home through products like the Echo smart speaker, and in the auto industry through Alexa.

But Amazon is up against the likes of Google and Apple, which have their own in-car operating systems.

Source: CNBC