Mercedes-Benz has given Apple the boot with the German car Company refusing to let their vehicles become another walled garden for Apple.

The CEO of the auto Company Ola Källeniusany claims that Mercedes has no plans to adopt Apple’s immersive, next-generation version of CarPlay.

When asked bluntly whether the Company had plans to let Apple’s CarPlay take over the cockpit he replied, “The short answer is no,”

He said that Mercedes-Benz will not allow Apple CarPlay to take over all the screens inside its vehicles.

He claimed that what the Company wants is “holistic software architecture” to meet the needs of customers who are increasingly looking for a better technology experience from their vehicles.

At CES 2023, BMW formally announced that it would bring an Android-powered platform to its vehicles starting in 2024 with its “OS 9” upgrade. That’s a change from the typical Linux foundation that “iDrive” has used up until now.

Recently Apple announced its next-gen version of CarPlay, in which the phone-mirroring feature would extend beyond the central touchscreen to also include additional screens that gave information on vehicle performance.

Apple who has a manic obsession with wanting to totally control anything that connects to an iPhone or iOS operating system wanted to be able control core functions of the vehicle like HVAC, as well as the speedometer and odometer.

“I fundamentally believe that that holistic customer experience is best done by us, and we will serve you,” he said during the interview with The Verge.

Källenius said he still sees value in offering phone-mirroring services to his customers and has no plans to exclude their use — despite some in the auto industry turning away from them. Last year,

General Motors made the controversial move to prohibit Apple CarPlay in its forthcoming lineup of electric vehicles, arguing that the company could provide a more comprehensive software experience than what exists on someone’s phone.

“We’re not fundamentalists to say, for some reason, we’re not going to allow a customer to use Apple CarPlay if that’s what they choose to do,” Källenius said. “So, we have Apple CarPlay. We have Android Auto. If, for some of the functions, you feel more comfortable with that and will switch back and forth, be my guest. You can get that, too.”

At the end of the answer, he reiterated his position that Apple’s next-gen CarPlay was a bridge too far for Mercedes. “To give up the whole cockpit head unit — in our case, a passenger screen — and everything to somebody else, the answer is no.”