- Global sales of passenger vehicles with embedded Wi-Fi grew 10% YoY in 2025, driven by rising adoption of connected infotainment systems and software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures.
- Sales of cars supporting the Wi-Fi 6 standard surged 142% YoY in 2025, supported by growing demand for higher bandwidth and lower-latency in-car connectivity.
- China remained the leading automotive Wi-Fi 6 market in 2025, fueled by rapid digital cockpit innovation from domestic OEMs.
- Automakers are increasingly embedding Wi-Fi as a key wireless technology, enabling OTA updates, wireless smartphone projection, and software-driven features.
Global sales of passenger vehicles (PV) with embedded Wi-Fi grew 10% YoY in 2025, according to Counterpoint’s new Global Automotive Wi-Fi Tracker. This growth was supported by the increasing integration of connected infotainment systems, the rising adoption of software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures, and growing consumer demand for seamless in-car digital experiences.
Associate Director Greg Basich commented, “Automakers are increasingly embedding Wi-Fi connectivity across both premium and mass-market vehicles to support wireless smartphone projection (such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), over-the-air (OTA) software updates, cloud-based services, and provide Wi-Fi hotspot access to in-vehicle occupants.”
Automotive PV Wi-Fi Penetration by Standard, 2025 vs 2024
Note: Out of cars with embedded Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 5 was the most commonly supported standard in cars sold in 2025, as it can support most current automotive use cases. However, the biggest momentum of the year came from Wi-Fi 6 adoption in cars, which grew 142% YoY in 2025. Compared to earlier Wi-Fi generations, Wi-Fi 6 delivers higher bandwidth, lower latency, and improved efficiency in environments with high densities of connected devices.
China, the United States, and Europe remained the top three automotive Wi-Fi markets globally in 2025, collectively accounting for nearly 77% of cars with embedded Wi-Fi. China remained the leading market for automotive Wi-Fi 6 adoption in 2025, driven by aggressive software-defined vehicle (SDV) development and rapid digital cockpit innovation by domestic automakers. Chinese OEMs, including BYD, NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, and ZEEKR, are increasingly integrating advanced rear-seat entertainment, wireless smartphone projection, and cloud-based in-car services, creating significantly higher in-vehicle data traffic.
Associate Director Kevin Li, who oversees China automotive research, said, “Chinese automakers are pushing digital cockpit innovation much faster than international rivals. As vehicles become more software-driven and display-heavy, the need for faster, more stable internal wireless connectivity is increasing rapidly. Wi-Fi 6 is becoming an important enabler for these next-generation in-car experiences.”
Toyota Group held the leading position globally in passenger-car sales with embedded Wi-Fi in 2025, supported by its large global vehicle volumes and broad connected-vehicle portfolio. Volkswagen Group and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group followed closely, benefiting from strong connectivity integration strategies and expanding digital cockpit deployments.
Vice President of Research, Peter Richardson, commented on the automotive Wi-Fi market outlook, “As vehicles evolve into software-driven digital platforms, automakers are integrating a wide range of digital features that require OTA updates and connections to off-board networks. With them, the need for more advanced wireless communication standards is also growing. As a result, Wi-Fi 6 is increasingly becoming the preferred standard for modern digital cockpit systems.”
