New cars will increasingly have the ability to integrate a smartphone with the vehicle, according to a new report from Juniper Research. It forecasts that 92 million vehicles will include technology to integrate the smartphone into the in-car ‘head unit’ by 2016. The report follows mobile-related announcements from both Ford and Toyota during Mobile World Congress 2012. In addition, the MirrorLink standard from the Connected Car Consortium is expected to help automotive manufacturers introduce this type of technology.

Anthony Cox, the report’s author, said “Integrating the smartphone into consumer cars represents a new route for the mobile Internet and infotainment to enter the vehicle.”

The main barrier to adoption is expected to be limited growth in the automotive market over the next five years, although regulation (such as eCall in Europe and Brazil’s ‘Contran 245’ vehicle tracking law) is expected to increase take-up in some regions.

[Whitepaper; report]