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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- 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
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Maintains Lead but Chinese Automakers Are Closing the Gap in New Wards Intelligence's SDV Ranking
LONDON, February 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wards Intelligence's Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) ranking, now part of Omdia, reveals that while Tesla still holds the overall lead, it has been surpassed in technological innovation by NIO and Xiaomi, which now occupy second and third place, respectively. The SDV concept represents a paradigm shift that has proven more complex than initially anticipated—particularly for established Western OEMs— but is advancing rapidly in China. Xpeng and Rivian rank third and fourth, respectively, completing the Leaders category. This category mainly consists of battery-electric-vehicle disruptors that are digitally native, prioritize a software-first approach, and are not constrained by legacy platforms, systems, or organizational culture. "Overall, this category includes automakers pushing the boundaries of SDV innovation, as well as those refining and scaling zonal architectures and other SDV-related technologies and practices," said Maite Bezerra, Principal Analyst at Wards Intelligence, now part of Omdia. In the Strong Contenders category—featuring Zeekr, Lucid, Leapmotor, and BMW, among others—67% of automakers are now actively commercializing SDVs, a notable shift from 2023 when most were limited to semi-SDVs. This underscores both the rapid growth of the SDV market and the intensifying competition within it. "Automakers in this category, such as BYD, are particularly well-positioned to challenge the current market leaders," said Bezerra. The Contenders category, including Hyundai, the Volkswagen Group, and General Motors, among others, saw an uptick in automakers deploying semi-SDVs and outlining more detailed SDV strategies. However, they still need to make substantial progress in bringing SDVs to production. Meanwhile, automakers in the Followers category—which previously included OEMs without a public SDV roadmap or specific timelines—have started setting clear SDV goals in response to the market's swift evolution. Measuring SDV progress remains challenging due to inconsistent definitions and lack of clear benchmarks. To address this, Wards Intelligence conducts annual primary and secondary research, utilizing advanced statistical tools to identify the most accurate indicators of SDV advancement. In this edition, 27 automakers were evaluated across five metrics: financial strength, portfolio complexity, vehicle platform readiness, organizational readiness, and SDV performance. "Notably, 62% of the automakers in the Leaders and Strong Contenders categories are either Chinese or Chinese-owned, highlighting China's increasing dominance in the SDV segment," said Bezerra. "Furthermore, only three of the 14 automakers in these categories are Western incumbents. Both trends point to a continued shift toward Chinese leadership and ongoing challenges for Western automakers in 2025." ABOUT OMDIA Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets combined with our actionable insights empower organizations to make smart growth decisions. View source version on Contacts Fasiha Khan - Sign in to access your portfolio
