Gen AI in Automotive: Applications, Challenges, and Opportunities with a Case study on In-Vehicle Experience

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is emerging as a transformative force in the automotive industry, enabling novel applications across vehicle design, manufacturing, autonomous driving, predictive maintenance, and in-vehicle user experience. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of GenAI in automotive, highlighting enabling technologies such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Variational Autoencoders (VAEs). Key opportunities include accelerating autonomous driving validation through synthetic data generation, optimizing component design, and enhancing human–machine interaction via personalized and adaptive interfaces. At the same time, the paper identifies significant technical, ethical, and safety challenges—including computational demands, bias, intellectual property concerns, and adversarial robustness—that must be addressed for responsible deployment. An infotainment case study on Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX Virtual Assistant illustrates how GenAI-powered voice assistant systems deliver more natural, proactive, and personalized in-car interactions compared to legacy rule-based assistants. Through this review and case study, the paper outlines both the promise and limitations of GenAI integration in the automotive sector and presents directions for future research and development aimed at achieving safer, more efficient, and user-centric mobility.