The Car That Watches You Back: The Advertising Infrastructure of Modern Cars

Modern vehicles have transformed from consumer products into connected platforms that manufacturers monetize through in-vehicle advertising, data collection, and remote software control—exemplified by Stellantis displaying ads on startup screens that cannot be permanently disabled without calling customer service. This shift, driven by the proliferation of touchscreen-based infotainment systems and the replacement of mechanical controls with electronic ones, creates new business model opportunities for automakers but introduces significant data privacy, user experience, and security risks that IT leaders must prepare to address as these systems become more sophisticated. For IT organizations, this represents a critical emerging threat landscape where vehicle data becomes a new attack surface and where supply chain relationships with automotive manufacturers require new security and privacy frameworks.