Spotify Car Thing, rest in peace. We hardly knew you.
Spotify has stopped making Car Thing, its in-car smart player, the streaming company said in its earnings report Wednesday (July 27).
According to the report, Spotify missed its gross margins in the second quarter of 2022, saying they were “negatively impacted by our decision to stop manufacturing Car Thing,” a move that will result in a $31.4 million charge.
A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that the goal of Car Thing was to “better understand in-car listening,” and bring audio to more users and vehicles.
“Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing unit,” the spokesperson said. “Existing devices will perform as intended. This initiative has unlocked helpful learnings, and we remain focused on the car as an important place for audio.”
Spotify introduced Car Thing in April of 2021, describing it as a “smart player that fills your car with music, news, entertainment, and talk,” designed to address its users’ need for “a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience,” that aims to bring “our entire catalog of music and podcasts to a wider range of users across an even wider range of vehicles.”
At the time, the company said its focus “remains on becoming the world’s No.1 audio platform — not on creating hardware.”