On June 11th, 2024, we discovered a set of vulnerabilities in Kia vehicles that allowed remote control over key functions using only a license plate. These attacks could be executed remotely on any hardware-equipped vehicle in about 30 seconds, regardless of whether it had an active Kia Connect subscription.
Things like live traffic require a connection though, and Google maps I think does the routing calcs off the device. Most people will use their phone for all that, but the use case is there.
I would say even those don’t need Internet. Navigation can be updated using a USB drive, and I have a phone for audio so I just need bluetooth.
The only network connection I want in my car is to notify emergency services if the airbags go off.
Things like live traffic require a connection though, and Google maps I think does the routing calcs off the device. Most people will use their phone for all that, but the use case is there.