That’s the finding of new research by Statista that outlines the number of connected cars will rise to 160 million vehicles worldwide by 2020.

The firm’s research finds that the global market leader is America. According to Statista a market volume of around $8.3bn (€7.5bn) is expected this year closely followed by China with around $8.1bn (€7.3bn). In third place is Japan with a cumulative revenue of $3.8bn (€3.4bn) followed by Germany in fourth place with a revenue of $3.1bn (€2.8bn) in 2016.

The research finds that the main impact of the enormous growth of the market comes from the rapid development of new features and possibilities. The biggest segment however, according to Statista’s Digital Market Outlook, is not the infotainment but the security and driving assistance. This market is being dominated by China and the revenue of the safety and supporting upgrades of connected cars in China will hit $4.7bn this year.

Volkswagen has already partnered with Google and Apple to roll out services including the ability to remotely lock and unlock using the smartphone for 2016 model year vehicles.

However, the most rapid growing segment of connected cars is the intelligence maintenance and diagnosis of the cars – and even of the drivers. This segment has seen a growth of over 200% in revenue in 2015. 

Following the news that Microsoft is to join the connected car market, Statista research indicates huge potential for the software provider, which is also focusing on business features as well as entertainment. Already Microsoft has announced partnerships with Volvo and car accessories specialist Harmans to integrate products such as its Microsoft Band 2 to talk to cars or Office 365, which will be included in in-car infotainment systems.