Volkswagen turns to smarter cars

Volkswagen is turning to smarter vehicles, confirming that it will introduce Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto later this year.

The move comes as the German car firm prepares to introduce its new infotainment system in the US and give car owner the chance to link their smartphones and integrate apps into their car system through MirrorLink.

The company is also displaying a concept car, the Golf R Touch, which brings gesture control to cars using cameras to detect and understand movements.

"The two inventions of the century, the car and the computer, are gradually coming closer together. We need to design future mobility to be even more intelligent and even more networked," said Dr Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen's chief executive.

Among the next generation of technologies Volkswagen is demonstrating at the show is an advanced version of its of Park Assist technology, which guides the car into parking spaces automatically. Trained Parking uses a camera to placed in the base of the rear-view mirror that will learn your common parking manoeuvres and then carry them out semi-automatically.