The collaboration between Toyota and Mazda will bear fruit sooner than expected, according to an exclusive report by Nikkei. In the report, the two automakers are said to be jointly developing a new infotainment system based on the open-source Linux operating system.

The report says that Toyota will handle the developing of the system’s “brain” while Mazda will be in charge of streamlining the system. This new infotainment system will handle car navigation, music and video, and smartphone connectivity.

Pushed by the lack of software developers in Japan (presumably those that specialize in in-car infotainment systems), Toyota and Mazda were pushed to develop the platform together. That being said, the two automakers will develop their own features and applications separately.

Toyota is said to roll out this next-generation system as early as this year in the North American market version of the 2018 Camry. It then aims to make the system standard in all cars sold in the US, Japan, and China by 2020.

Meanwhile, Mazda will be updating its Mazda Connect in-car infotainment system to take into account this shared control platform with Toyota. It is believed that Mazda will roll out the system with the all-new Mazda3 with other models to receive it in stages.

Source: Nikkei