Two powerful automakers may soon team up for a new collaborative effort that could help stop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from completely dominating vehicle dashboards.

Ford has come to an agreement with Toyota to allow engineers from the Japanese automaker to "explore" a possible collaboration with Livio to implement SmartDeviceLink in future vehicles, a Toyota press release reads.

"The in-car app market is quickly evolving. Developing robust, flexible, safe and user-friendly connected services is a priority for us, and one that we believe is shared by Ford, Livio and other contributors to SDL technology," said Senior Managing Officer, Shigeki Terashi, in a company statement.

SDL was created in 2013 by Ford and its subsidiary Livio.

Currently, Toyota vehicles use a system called "Entune" but switching to the open source platform like SDL will give drivers easier access to smartphone apps through voice recognition, new dashboard buttons and more.

"At Ford, we view all aspects of time behind the wheel as core to the experience we provide customers," said Don Butler, executive director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services, in a press statement. "We're pleased other members of the industry feel the same way, and look forward to working together to drive even more support for the SDL developer community."

Ford and Toyota previously collaborated on in-car telematics standards back in 2011.

Earlier this week, Ford launched a new Sync infotainment system called "Sync 3" which is expected to be released within the next couple of months for the upcoming 2016 Ford Escape and Fiesta.

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