Case Stellantis: One HMI product, 4 unique vehicle brands

As announced earlier this month, the Qt framework was used to develop Stellantis's newly launched in-vehicle HMI across its iconic portfolio of European car brands. The project kicked off in 2018, and the first vehicles reached their happy new owners in 2021.

With an estimated 6 million vehicles sporting the new HMI setup rolling out of the factories annually, the new Stellantis HMI system is bound to become a household item in the coming years. Let's take a deeper look into what it looks like!

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the Stellantis HMI release is its scalability across multiple brands and variants. The same underlying system powers several distinct brands, and in this blog, we'll dig into 4 of them: Citroen, DS, Opel, and Peugeot.

As the automotive field continues consolidating (the most recent example being PSA and FCA's fusion into Stellantis), the automotive software space is expected to adjust to the new playing field. With this in mind, it's increasingly essential that the selected HMI toolchain is also cross-platform and effortlessly supports variant management across brands and models.

Peugeot 308

The 308 HMI stays loyal to the Peugeot brand identity with its clean UI, blue highlights, and carefully curated visual effects. 

The IVI screen comes with an additional smaller display for touch controls, partially replacing the physical buttons used by other Stellantis brands. The opposing angles of the displays make interactions more natural, with the most commonly used UI controls being placed on the separate control panel below the main display.

“The design department works with Qt for the development of our in-vehicle HMI systems”, said Laurent Nicolas, Senior UX Expert. “Qt allows us to prototype, test, iterate and deliver our HMIs very quickly thanks to cross-platforms support and advanced user interface. Qt Design Studio and latest UI rendering solutions help designers, ergonomists and engineers create rich and tailored UI according to each brand specific UX markers”.

Citröen CX5

The Citröen CX5 is a practical family car, and that heritage is evident in the HMI design. The UI has a more flat 2D design approach with higher visual contrasts to highlight core information and reduce interaction to a minimum. A straightforward design for the practical consumer. 

DS DS4

The DS4 has taken a sportier approach to UI and visual style, fitting with its brand aesthetics. It boasts bold red highlights among its three screens and the heads-up display. The 37th Festival Automobile International jury recently awarded the prize for the Most Beautiful Car of 2022 to DS 4, and the HMI setup is definitely among its crown jewels. Huge congratulations to the Stellantis design team for the achievement!

Opel Astra

The Opel Astra UI has taken a more playful approach to its HMI design. The heavy use of their yellow brand colors and bold visual effects differentiate Astra from its siblings.

As our VP of Sales, Juhapekka Niemi stated in the press release, "We are thrilled to be part of the Stellantis digital cockpit breakthrough.

The role of software within the automotive industry is only growing, and it’s vital that manufacturers leverage the latest tools at their disposal to keep up with industry trends. With our cross-platform capabilities, we hope to extend and deepen our partnership as technological requirements evolve over the coming years."

Stay tuned for more blog posts covering vehicle HMIs built with Qt. Meanwhile, you can check our last post introducing the Genesis GV60. 

Want to see more automotive cases built with Qt? Visit Qt for Automotive pages or send a contact request to our sales team.