Automakers face challenges in managing software-defined vehicles at scale
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter.
NOVI, MICHIGAN — With the auto industry's shift toward building more connected vehicles powered by software continuously updated over-the-air, OEMs are rapidly moving from hardware-centric vehicle development processes to a software-first approach. This pivot also includes the integration of AI and adoption of a cloud-based development environment for software-based vehicles.
However, to support this transition, legacy automakers still face challenges in data management and technology integration, according to a recent panel discussion on the topic at the AutoTech 2025 conference in Michigan.
The panel, which was moderated by Maite Bezerra, principal analyst for software-defined vehicles at Wards Intelligence, included industry experts from Bosch, Stellantis, Toptal, and the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) industry group, which is working with automakers to expedite development of software-defined vehicles.
SOAFEE aims to create an open source vehicle platform using cloud-native architecture that supports multiple hardware configurations.
'SOAFEE is really kind of more about bringing some of the modern software techniques to automotive software development,' said panelist Robert Day, the group's governing body representative. 'Over the last couple or three years, people are actually starting to do their development in the cloud using the tools, technologies and methodologies that are well developed and well used in cloud development.'
Although adopting a cloud-based software development approach is a common practice for developers working in the tech space, it's an entirely new field for some legacy automakers.
"The problem is the car is not the cloud,' said Day. 'It has things like safety and things like mutual physicality, heterogeneous computing.'
The software development challenges for automakers also create the need for OEMs to recruit top talent to integrate the technology into next-generation vehicles, often from outside of the industry. Some companies are providing services to expedite such recruitment. For example, Toptal operates a freelancing platform that connects companies with in-demand software engineers and other technology specialists.
'We have a lot of partners in the automotive space,' said panelist Paul Timmermann, VP of product at Toptal.
Stellantis is one of the automakers encountering the challenges of shifting towards SDVs for its future vehicles.
"We [automakers] are always hardware first, and now the switch is happening to, you know, software, and then comes the hardware," said panelist Sangeeta Theru, director of virtual validation platforms at Stellantis. 'Tools, processes…everything is changing,' she said.
Theru also highlighted the importance of training internal teams at Stellantis, adding that the automaker recently launched "big training on AWS cloud and architecture' for employees. 'There was a lot of effort in upskilling and training internal people,' she said.
A major driver of increasing vehicle complexity is automakers launching more advanced driver assist systems and autonomous driving functionality using AI-powered software, according to the panelists.
Vehicles with automated driving capabilities, for example, are equipped with dozens of cameras and sensors, generating "many, many terabytes of data" for a single car, scaling to "well beyond petabytes" across large fleets, explained panelist Steven Miller, product management of ADAS and technical expert at Bosch.
'Clearly you're not going to upload all of that data,' he said. 'The other even harder data problem is okay, what's the right data to upload to the cloud?'
With rollout of more advanced autonomous driving features, automakers need to be adept at processing and merging extremely large data sets. One of these challenges is processing high volumes of vehicle data in real-time, as well as making it more manageable to transfer to and from the cloud.
Automakers must also decide which vehicle data to upload to the cloud to train AI models. Therefore, the panelists emphasized the need for OEMs to create efficient data pipelines to manage this complexity. The panelists also foresee AI being integrated into other vehicle systems, such as remote diagnostics and infotainment. The use of AI will also likely extend to corporate organizational processes.
"This is one of the most transformational shifts that we are seeing in the automotive industry," said Bezerra.
The panel discussion also delved into automakers' adopting open source software with a higher level of standardization to reduce development times and costs.
In November 2024, Panasonic Automotive Systems and Arm announced a collaboration to standardize automotive architecture. The two companies said they recognized the need for the industry to shift from a hardware-centric to a software-first development model to address challenges created by high-cost, vendor-specific proprietary interfaces for vehicles.
While the use of open source automotive software has traditionally been met with caution due to safety and liability concerns, an April 2025 report from the Eclipse Foundation found a significant jump in industry appetite to use it for safety-critical vehicle systems. According to the report, 79% of automotive software professionals currently use open source tools and/or in-vehicle software for development, and the number of users actively contributing to open source projects increased by 4% from last year.
The big advantage of open source is it provides a standard between companies, explained Day. 'If you're starting to use open standard or open source, it makes that collaboration easier,' he said.
Day also highlighted another long-term strategy decision facing OEMs. "What would you choose to open source first? What would you actually keep in-house?" he said.
Despite the prospects of adopting open source software for vehicles, the panelists acknowledged that some key areas needed more attention, including cybersecurity. This area is even more critical for automated driving and connected infotainment systems that can be used to pay for goods and services, such as EV charging sessions.
Day raised a critical point about security. 'I don't think it's placed enough attention to, and certainly don't think [automakers] spend enough money on it,' he said.
According to chipmaker Arm, a modern vehicle can have up to 650 million lines of code, and this number will only increase in the future. But software will revolutionize how drivers interact with their vehicles and redefine the relationship between OEMs and vehicle owners, according to the company.
Disclosure: AutoTech2025 is run by Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Automotive Dive. Informa has no influence over Automotive Dive's coverage.
Recommended Reading
Panasonic Automotive Systems, Arm team up on SDV standardization
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Ram Brand Launches 'Never Stop Being American' Marketing Campaign, New Brand Ethos 'Nothing Stops Ram'
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. , June 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not the 4th of July yet, but the Ram brand is already setting off the fireworks! On the heels of the brand's highly anticipated and long-awaited news that the HEMI® V-8 is making a comeback and that Ram brand is back in NASCAR, Ram is launching its new marketing campaign, 'Never Stop Being American,' and with it, even more attitude with the brand's new tagline, 'Nothing Stops Ram.' " Never Stop Being American " screams red, white and blue. Set to a custom version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' by Kenny Wayne Shepherd and narrated by UFC's Dana White, the 60-second spot, launching on Flag Day, explodes with fireworks, HEMI V-8s, NASCAR, tattooed grandmas, rodeos, burnouts, the Goodyear Blimp, the Ram Monster Truck, Ram trucks and fighter jets with patriotic smoke trails, mullets and blue suede shoes, just to name a few. 'Ram's new campaign, 'Never Stop Being an American,' is an ode to America, its people, its culture and time-honored traditions,' said Olivier Francois, global chief marketing officer, Stellantis. 'Launching it, and the new 'Nothing Stops Ram' tagline, sets the stage for an epic year for the brand that will be remembered for the HEMI V-8's comeback and return to NASCAR and, for the country, leading into America's 250th anniversary, in which Ram will play a leading role during the yearlong celebration as the event's exclusive truck partner.' The news of the HEMI V-8 and NASCAR return was officially announced by Tim Kuniskis, global CEO of the Ram brand, during a live NASCAR event at the Michigan International Speedway on June 8. 'Last weekend, we let our Ram customers know that we heard them loud and clear, and the HEMI V-8 is back,' said Kuniskis. 'Nothing stops Americans, and nothing stops Ram, so when our drivers told us what they wanted in their trucks, we answered the call. This is just the start of what will be an unforgettable year for the brand and for our customers, which starts now by giving them what they've fought us to have, freedom of choice that includes the return of an iconic American powertrain.' The 'Never Stop Being American' marketing campaign was created in partnership with the Ram brand and Glue IQ, with Doner developing the 'Nothing Stops Ram' tagline. Ram brand also launched its " Ram-Demption " campaign as part of last weekend's events at Michigan International Speedway, officially signaling the return of the HEMI V-8 and the brand's return to NASCAR. The 68-second video features Kuniskis behind the wheel of Ram's NASCAR concept truck at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, with the iconic Goodyear Blimp and jets flying overhead. Different versions of the 'Ram-Demption' video include 60-, 30- and 15-second spots, which are running across NASCAR media and the Ram brand's social media channels, in addition to a long-form video running on the Ram brand's YouTube channel. 'Ram-Demption' was created in partnership with Argonaut agency. The Ram brand will also play a big part in the festivities surrounding the 250th anniversary of America, announcing its exclusive truck brand partnership with America250, the bipartisan organization charged by Congress to lead the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Ram brand will also play a big part in the festivities surrounding the 250th anniversary of America, announcing its exclusive truck brand partnership last month with America250, the bipartisan organization charged by Congress to lead the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ram brand will play a central role in the yearlong celebration, which includes providing trucks that move America250 official events across the country​. In addition, the Ram brand will reveal a limited-edition A250 vehicle within its truck portfolio to commemorate the yearlong celebration. More details will be announced as the celebration continues throughout the year. Ram brand's parent company, formerly named after Walter P. Chrysler, celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 6, 2025. Ram Brand Ram offers a full lineup of pickups and commercial vehicles; the Ram 1500, 2500/3500 Heavy Duty, 3500/4500/5500 Chassis Cab and ProMaster vans. The Ram Light-Duty and Heavy Duty pickups are considerably improved for 2025 and offer new products in the fastest growing segment within the pickup space—Sport Trucks. Ram introduced the largest variety of off-road performance trucks the brand has ever offered, including the new Ram 1500 RHO with more horsepower per dollar than any other performance off-road pickup. In the commercial business, Ram is launching the new 2025 Chassis Cab line with improvements to help customers and upfitters. Ram Professional is making considerable changes in process, execution and resources with a focus on commercial offerings, dedicated B2B-focused expertise, and sales and service support, which are critical to growing in this segment. Ram continues to outperform the competition, setting the benchmark in the most important areas for truck buyers: Ram is improving market competitiveness and growth while maintaining pricing power through products, services and electrified offerings. Aligned under the global presence of the Stellantis Pro One commercial vehicle organization, Ram currently offers a wide range of products globally, from the Ram 700 compact pickup to the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab and a range of ProMaster vans. Ram is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit Follow Ram and company news and video on: Company blog: Media website: Ram Truck brand: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: @RamTrucks, @StellantisNA YouTube: For more information, please visit the Stellantis media site for North America at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Stellantis
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Stellantis Exec Wants Europe to Adopt Cheap, Tiny, Japanese-Style Kei Cars
Though it may seem different today, more than half a century ago, American and European drivers were not as familiar with Japanese automakers and the types of cars they offered. Today, well-known Japanese brands like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are primarily recognized in the West for their locally built compact cars, sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks. However, the situation is quite different in Japan. In fact, the majority of vehicles on the streets in Japan are not Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Corollas, Crowns, or Camrys; instead, many fall under a category of super-compact vehicles known as "Kei cars." These unique compact vehicles are an essential mobility solution for Japanese drivers navigating their roads, but recently, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann encouraged European regulators to consider adopting a similar concept. On June 12, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann emphasized the urgent need for Europe to innovate and produce smaller, more affordable vehicles in the same vein as Japanese 'kei cars.' He pointed out that the high prices of current offerings, which he blamed squarely on excessively strict vehicle regulations, are hurting consumer demand for cars on the continent. During his remarks at the 2025 Automotive News Europe Congress, he pointed out that as recently as 2019, nearly 50 different models were sold in Europe with a price tag below €15,000 ($17,400); however, just a single model under that price tag exists these days. Elkann suggested that Europe should look for inspiration from Japan, where tiny and cheap kei cars have long captured a significant market share. He even proposed that Europe's version of the kei car could be named the E-Car. "There's no reason why, if Japan has a kei car, which is 40 percent of the market, Europe should not have an E-Car," Elkann said. In Europe, Stellantis already sells electric microcars that are classified as quadricycles in some European countries, specifically the bubble-shaped Citroën Ami, Opel Rocks-e, and Fiat Topolino. These vehicles' sales in Europe show a strong market for affordable electric mobility. However, a large variety of cars are offered as kei-compliant vehicles in Japan, including off-roaders like the Japanese-market Suzuki Jimny, roadsters like the Daihatsu Copen, family cars like the Honda N-Box, and even utility-focused kei trucks like the Mitsubishi Minicab. The 'Kei' in Kei car is short for a Japanese word called kei-jidōsha (軽自動車), which roughly translates to "light vehicle" in English. Kei cars are defined by maximum size and displacement restrictions, meaning they are only allowed to have a maximum length of about 134 inches, a width of about 58 inches, a height of about 79 inches, and a gas engine displacement of 660 cubic centimeters. In Japan, Kei cars are seen as around-town vehicles for city-dwellers, as their size and engine restrictions help owners by guaranteeing much lower tax and insurance costs while freeing up much-needed road space. Elkann emphasized that small cars, like Stellantis's own Fiat 500, have historically represented the core of the European automotive industry and served as a symbol of affordable mobility for the masses. Unfortunately, increasing regulations that made cars heavier and more expensive have made them unprofitable to manufacture. Some of the requirements for cars, ranging from small vehicles to SUVs, include safety features such as sensors that detect when a driver falls asleep and an SOS button. Elkann argues that features significantly increase the cost of vehicles primarily used for short city journeys. "We are going to face more than 120 new regulations by 2030" in Europe, he said. "If you look at our engineers, more than 25 percent just work on compliance, so no value is added." Though the buying preferences of the American car-buying public may indicate that no Fiat, Citroën, or Alfa Romeo-branded European E-cars would make it on American shores, this story out of Europe shows that Stellantis is facing two different kinds of problems on two different continents with huge car-buying potential with two wildly different sets of preferences. While we may be preoccupied with Ram Trucks and Jeep stuff, it is important to note that John Elkann and the incoming CEO, Antonio Filosa, are also responsible for keeping a significant number of Europe's car factories buzzing. However, in remarks at the same conference, Elkann said that Filosa was the right choice in an automotive industry with defined challenges in particular regions. "The experience that Antonio had running Argentina, running Brazil, running South America, and recently running North America is very much in phase with how the world is going between regulations, tariffs, and how you ultimately navigate that constructively with political forces," he said. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Automakers face challenges in managing software-defined vehicles at scale
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. NOVI, MICHIGAN — With the auto industry's shift toward building more connected vehicles powered by software continuously updated over-the-air, OEMs are rapidly moving from hardware-centric vehicle development processes to a software-first approach. This pivot also includes the integration of AI and adoption of a cloud-based development environment for software-based vehicles. However, to support this transition, legacy automakers still face challenges in data management and technology integration, according to a recent panel discussion on the topic at the AutoTech 2025 conference in Michigan. The panel, which was moderated by Maite Bezerra, principal analyst for software-defined vehicles at Wards Intelligence, included industry experts from Bosch, Stellantis, Toptal, and the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) industry group, which is working with automakers to expedite development of software-defined vehicles. SOAFEE aims to create an open source vehicle platform using cloud-native architecture that supports multiple hardware configurations. 'SOAFEE is really kind of more about bringing some of the modern software techniques to automotive software development,' said panelist Robert Day, the group's governing body representative. 'Over the last couple or three years, people are actually starting to do their development in the cloud using the tools, technologies and methodologies that are well developed and well used in cloud development.' Although adopting a cloud-based software development approach is a common practice for developers working in the tech space, it's an entirely new field for some legacy automakers. "The problem is the car is not the cloud,' said Day. 'It has things like safety and things like mutual physicality, heterogeneous computing.' The software development challenges for automakers also create the need for OEMs to recruit top talent to integrate the technology into next-generation vehicles, often from outside of the industry. Some companies are providing services to expedite such recruitment. For example, Toptal operates a freelancing platform that connects companies with in-demand software engineers and other technology specialists. 'We have a lot of partners in the automotive space,' said panelist Paul Timmermann, VP of product at Toptal. Stellantis is one of the automakers encountering the challenges of shifting towards SDVs for its future vehicles. "We [automakers] are always hardware first, and now the switch is happening to, you know, software, and then comes the hardware," said panelist Sangeeta Theru, director of virtual validation platforms at Stellantis. 'Tools, processes…everything is changing,' she said. Theru also highlighted the importance of training internal teams at Stellantis, adding that the automaker recently launched "big training on AWS cloud and architecture' for employees. 'There was a lot of effort in upskilling and training internal people,' she said. A major driver of increasing vehicle complexity is automakers launching more advanced driver assist systems and autonomous driving functionality using AI-powered software, according to the panelists. Vehicles with automated driving capabilities, for example, are equipped with dozens of cameras and sensors, generating "many, many terabytes of data" for a single car, scaling to "well beyond petabytes" across large fleets, explained panelist Steven Miller, product management of ADAS and technical expert at Bosch. 'Clearly you're not going to upload all of that data,' he said. 'The other even harder data problem is okay, what's the right data to upload to the cloud?' With rollout of more advanced autonomous driving features, automakers need to be adept at processing and merging extremely large data sets. One of these challenges is processing high volumes of vehicle data in real-time, as well as making it more manageable to transfer to and from the cloud. Automakers must also decide which vehicle data to upload to the cloud to train AI models. Therefore, the panelists emphasized the need for OEMs to create efficient data pipelines to manage this complexity. The panelists also foresee AI being integrated into other vehicle systems, such as remote diagnostics and infotainment. The use of AI will also likely extend to corporate organizational processes. "This is one of the most transformational shifts that we are seeing in the automotive industry," said Bezerra. The panel discussion also delved into automakers' adopting open source software with a higher level of standardization to reduce development times and costs. In November 2024, Panasonic Automotive Systems and Arm announced a collaboration to standardize automotive architecture. The two companies said they recognized the need for the industry to shift from a hardware-centric to a software-first development model to address challenges created by high-cost, vendor-specific proprietary interfaces for vehicles. While the use of open source automotive software has traditionally been met with caution due to safety and liability concerns, an April 2025 report from the Eclipse Foundation found a significant jump in industry appetite to use it for safety-critical vehicle systems. According to the report, 79% of automotive software professionals currently use open source tools and/or in-vehicle software for development, and the number of users actively contributing to open source projects increased by 4% from last year. The big advantage of open source is it provides a standard between companies, explained Day. 'If you're starting to use open standard or open source, it makes that collaboration easier,' he said. Day also highlighted another long-term strategy decision facing OEMs. "What would you choose to open source first? What would you actually keep in-house?" he said. Despite the prospects of adopting open source software for vehicles, the panelists acknowledged that some key areas needed more attention, including cybersecurity. This area is even more critical for automated driving and connected infotainment systems that can be used to pay for goods and services, such as EV charging sessions. Day raised a critical point about security. 'I don't think it's placed enough attention to, and certainly don't think [automakers] spend enough money on it,' he said. According to chipmaker Arm, a modern vehicle can have up to 650 million lines of code, and this number will only increase in the future. But software will revolutionize how drivers interact with their vehicles and redefine the relationship between OEMs and vehicle owners, according to the company. Disclosure: AutoTech2025 is run by Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Automotive Dive. Informa has no influence over Automotive Dive's coverage. Recommended Reading Panasonic Automotive Systems, Arm team up on SDV standardization
