Around 20 per cent of consumer cars in Western Europe and North America will feature integration with mobile apps by 2017, according to a report by Juniper Research.

Driven by new standards, increasing smartphone ownership and advances in entertainment head units, the analyst firm forecasts that there will be 90 million app connected cars across the two regions in four years’ time.

Standards such as MirrorLink, developed by the Car Connectivity Consortium, will be key in “creating the foundations for the connected car ecosystem to flourish”, the report added.

The success of smartphone tethering and in-vehicle apps will also have the effect of driving down the prices vehicle manufacturers can charge for their own embedded telematics infotainment services.