Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced every new car it sells will have Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) capability as standard. Drivers will be able to receive software patches and updates wherever they are, without having to return to a dealer.
This means the Touch Pro and Touch Pro Duo infotainment systems that feature in current JLR models will be able to remain up-to-date. The feature was highlighted on the new Land Rover Defender, but will now be available across all Jaguars and Land Rovers.
The idea of over-the-air software updates was popularised by Tesla. Now, the likes of JLR and Porsche are implementing similar tech.
“We are passionate about creating and delivering the latest technology to our customers,” said Nick Rogers, director of product engineering at Jaguar Land Rover.
“Building on the connected capability of our new Defender, we have made our pioneering software-over-the-air capability for infotainment updates standard on all our new vehicles.”
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Nearly-new cars get free update
Most impressive, perhaps, is the fact that newer JLR cars are eligible for a free update. Half a million cars sold since 2016 should be able to receive the complimentary update at a dealer, then become SOTA-capable.
“Of course, we want our existing customers to benefit from the latest connected features as well,” Rogers followed.
“Which is why we are offering them a complimentary upgrade to enable this capability on their vehicles too, together with the latest updates for their infotainment systems.”