This Hot Topic explores how the IT industry is transforming the automotive industry, with a particular focus on the emerging connected car trend. It provides important insights into connected cars by presenting an overview of the current opportunities in the market and those that are still being developed. Beyond this, the analysis investigates how the convergence of the IT and automotive industries will translate into future trends for cities as an important step in creating smart cities. It describes the automotive sector in Brazil, comparing to the international context, in order to provide an idea of the potential market that the country has for the connected cars segment. It also provides highlights from the Mexican market to illustrate Latin American opportunities and challenges.