When Panasonic Automotive bought the internet radio service Aupeo in 2013, it was clear that the Berlin-based streamer was going to head off in a different direction from rivals such as Pandora.

And now we know how. In the coming days, Aupeo Personal Radio will become Personal Radio by Aupeo — this may sound like a trivial rebranding effort, but it marks the birth of a new app, focused heavily on the in-car experience, that’s going to try to be the only audio app that drivers need.

First, function: Personal Radio will do what it says on the tin, allowing drivers to set up highly personalized streams that present audio content in a timely manner. So for example, whereas drivers usually have to wait until fixed times to hear the traffic report, Personal Radio will instead time these reports according to when the journey’s taking place.

Over time, the stream…