{"id":121466,"date":"2024-05-08T04:25:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T03:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spglobal.com\/mobility\/en\/research-analysis\/briefcase-software-defined-vehicles-identity-crisis-for-auto.html"},"modified":"2024-05-08T04:25:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T03:25:15","slug":"briefcase-software-defined-vehicles-an-identity-crisis-for-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/08\/briefcase-software-defined-vehicles-an-identity-crisis-for-the-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"BriefCASE: Software-defined vehicles – An identity crisis for the industry?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n

Throughout the past hundred years or so, vehicles have largely
\nbeen defined by their brand and all the engineering effort that is
\nwrapped up in creating that equity. Software-defined vehicles
\nrepresent a sea-change in vehicle development processes and
\nchallenge the industry's core competencies and hard fought brand
\nidentities.<\/p>\n

We are entering an era where vehicles will be defined by their
\nsoftware. Think of that statement. In isolation, it says a lot.
\nThroughout the past hundred years or so, vehicles have largely been
\ndefined by their brand. Alfred Sloan built a whole company on this
\nprinciple. Today, Carlos Tavares, with Stellantis, has built a
\nhouse of brands that appeal to different parts of the market with
\nvarying degrees of overlap. The brand of car we drove defined who
\nwe were as people. Driving a Volvo defined one as a “steady Eddie.”
\nBrands even defined whole professions. Saab? Ergo, must be a
\ndentist.<\/p>\n

In the era of the software-defined vehicle (SDV) all that
\nhistory and car culture is in danger of being jettisoned. We have
\nbeen here before and only recently. At one juncture electric
\nvehicles threatened homogeneity and erosion of brand identity. SDVs
\nwill mean a vehicle is only as good as its software. There is a
\ndanger that the understanding of physics and engineering that had
\nserved a brand's DNA for decades will count for less. The
\ncomponents and systems that make a vehicle steer, stop and start
\ncould become off-the-shelf commodities in the new world of SDVs.
\nAlready, at CES 2024 we saw signs that mechanical components are
\nbeing decontented in the SDV era, with the thought that software
\nwill be able to mask any intrinsic shortcomings of
\nlower-functioning components.<\/p>\n

The industry will argue that the SDV will allow vehicles to be
\nanything that the customer wants to experience. Want your vehicle
\nset up for a track day? Want to maximize your vehicle's energy
\nefficiency? Want to upgrade your vehicle's infotainment or
\nconnectivity? “Certainly, sir or madam. Just make a one-time
\npayment or subscribe here.” However, to deliver an experience in
\nkeeping with a brand it could mean that differentiating hardware is
\nretained, watering down the benefits of SDVs. Otherwise, the
\nexperience will only be as good as the software; will the software
\nbe able to provide a facsimile of a brand's historic equity?<\/p>\n

And herein lies the problem. Software moving center stage in the
\nworld of automotive is inherently risky. It lies outside the
\nsector's core competencies. It will define companies in the future,
\nand it is doing so now. Think of the Fisker Ocean and the software
\nproblems that are detracting from an otherwise sound vehicle.
\nRemember the issues with Volkswagen's first ID vehicles? These
\nissues and many more will escalate in the future. For the US
\nmarket, data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety
\nAdministration shows that software-related recalls have increased
\nfrom a 10% share in 2019 to 15% in 2023.<\/p>\n

The industry's brand equity equations are being redefined and
\nunder threat. And that threatens the established order. SDVs'
\nadvantages are often drawn alongside those of the smartphone. But
\nthere are other, more ominous, portents in the mobile phone world.
\nFailing at SDVs could leave some on the side of Nokia, while those
\nwho succeed become the next Apple.<\/p>\n

Look carefully and the signs are already there. Much of the
\nchange in the Chinese market in the past few years (international
\nbrands that are not Tesla nor premium have seen market share slide)
\nhas been ascribed to Chinese brands' EV presence and the head start
\ngifted to them by benevolent government policies. They are part of
\nthe market change, but there is more to it.<\/p>\n

The Chinese market is still relatively young, and its consumers
\nare full of digital natives. Personal transportation's ability to
\nget from A to B becomes the commodity, not the experience it once
\nwas. The experience is defined by what's going on in the vehicle.
\nHere, Chinese brands have run with the SDV idea first developed and
\nproductionized by Tesla. Like Tesla, they have none of the legacy
\nvehicle architectures or systems and processes to maintain what the
\nold guard juggles with.<\/p>\n

The new car brands on the rise in mainland China are more about
\nthe digital experience \u2014 aka how good the software is \u2014
\nthan they are about the ride. The fastest followers to Tesla are
\nstacking up among the new Chinese competitors. The likes of Nio and
\nBYD are closer to getting fully functioned SDVs to market than many
\nof the leading original equipment manufacturers in the West.<\/p>\n

Already, concerns are mounting in the triad markets \u2014 US,
\nWest Europe and Japan \u2014 that, with China's rising stars looking
\nto use exports as a relief valve to alleviate increasing domestic
\nexcess capacity, there is a risk to the triad markets' natural
\norder due to the surge in imports of low-cost EVs. The digital
\nexperience should be added to the EV concerns.<\/p>\n

The SDV is often painted as a panacea for the industry's ills,
\nnot least of which is its consistent failure to earn a return on
\ncapital that finds favor on Wall Street. The SDV is the latest
\nframework for, what the industry hopes, is transformational. In
\nthis, and in no particular chronological order, it joins backward
\nand forward vertical integration; globalization (build where you
\nsell); kaizen; just-in-time; high volume platforms; Industry 4.0;
\nelectrification, autonomous drive and many others.<\/p>\n

While the SDV stands to benefit the industry, potential issues
\nwith SDVs are not just aligned with brand equity. SDV returns are a
\nlong-term game \u2014 revenue advantages will accrue in vehicle
\noperation post-factory gate and thereafter, it is a question of
\nfleet size. But, before we even get to the revenue piece, there
\nwill be considerable costs involved. As has been the case with EVs
\nand autonomy, it will mean OEMs raiding their reserves and the
\ncapital markets as a sunk development cost for SDVs. And, as
\nalready mentioned, software sits outside a typical OEM's realm of
\nexperience. Auto companies are used to measuring tangibles.
\nSoftware is nebulous and its effectiveness is impossible to measure
\nwith the auto sector's normal total value management and Six Sigma
\ntoolkits.<\/p>\n

The need to plug technology and portfolio gaps, reduce cost
\nburdens and add scale, all add up to the sector being ripe for
\nstrategic alliances and consolidation (again). The automotive
\nindustry's history is littered with brands that have ceased to
\nexist because of overreliance on badge engineering. Among the
\nDetroit Three alone, think Mercury, Oldsmobile and Plymouth. In the
\nfuture, we could have a new failure point to add to the list in the
\nshape of software engineering.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to BriefCASE: Our weekly
\nAutoTechInsight newsletter featuring innovative automotive insights
\nand expert analysis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the past hundred years or so, vehicles have largely
\nbeen defined by their brand and all the engineering effort that is
\nwrapped up in creating that equity. Software-defined vehicles
\nrepresent a sea-change in vehicle development processes and
\n…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[3267],"tags":[61,122,127,129,124,128,125,132,131,133,126,130,123,66,94,88,97,56,64,65,60,3344,3351,3357,3360,3335,3340,3362,112,3353,40,75,95,3350,3352,3356,3343,3359,3339,3345,3334,3341,104,3354,33,120,3358,3349,3337,3348,105,101,98,115,30,29,41,86,3342,3361,70,69,68,72,71,26,118,108,87,3355,46,55,48,52,54,51,50,83,3338,62,58,57,3336,109,35,3346,59,63,85,79,82,96,80,27,81,114,44,42,43,45,38,39,110,117,100,111,116,3300,73,89,90,92,91,93,84,78,37,102,34,36,77,67,74,99,113,3347,119,28,121,32,47,49,53,103,31,76],"class_list":["post-121466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-car-or-automobile","tag-airpods","tag-anime","tag-anime-characters","tag-anime-cosplay","tag-anime-edits","tag-anime-merchandise","tag-anime-movies","tag-anime-news","tag-anime-recommendations","tag-anime-reviews","tag-anime-series","tag-anime-streaming","tag-animes","tag-app-store","tag-app-store-samsung","tag-appgallery","tag-appgallery-oneplus","tag-apple","tag-apple-music","tag-apple-tv","tag-apple-watch","tag-auto-financing-guide","tag-automobile-industry-news","tag-automobile-laws-and-regulations","tag-automobile-shows-and-expos","tag-automobile-specifications","tag-automobile-technology","tag-autonomous-vehicles","tag-bbc-sport","tag-best-cars-for-long-drives","tag-best-mobile-games","tag-bixby","tag-bixby-xiaomi","tag-car-accessories","tag-car-comparison","tag-car-customization-ideas","tag-car-insurance-advice","tag-car-interior-design-ideas","tag-car-maintenance-tips","tag-car-resale-value","tag-car-reviews","tag-car-safety-features","tag-champions-league","tag-city-cars","tag-cyberpunk","tag-cyberpunk-2077","tag-driving-tips-and-tricks","tag-eco-friendly-cars","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-family-cars","tag-fantasy-football","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-fortnite","tag-free-fire","tag-free-mobile-games","tag-freebuds-pro","tag-fuel-efficiency-tips","tag-future-of-automobiles","tag-galaxy-a52","tag-galaxy-note-20","tag-galaxy-s21","tag-galaxy-watch-4","tag-galaxy-z-fold-3","tag-game","tag-games","tag-golf","tag-harmonyos","tag-highway-cars","tag-how-to-backup-iphone","tag-how-to-factory-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-restore-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-5","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-6","tag-huawei","tag-hybrid-cars","tag-ios","tag-ipad","tag-iphone","tag-latest-car-models","tag-live-soccer","tag-lol","tag-luxury-cars","tag-macbook","tag-macos","tag-mate-40-pro","tag-mi-11-lite","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p-huawei","tag-mi-smart-band-6","tag-minecraft","tag-miui","tag-mlb-scores","tag-mobile-game-design","tag-mobile-game-development","tag-mobile-game-marketing","tag-mobile-game-monetization","tag-mobile-games","tag-mobile-gaming","tag-nba-scores","tag-nba-standings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scores","tag-nhl-scores","tag-off-road-vehicles","tag-one-ui","tag-oneplus","tag-oneplus-9-pro","tag-oneplus-buds-pro","tag-oneplus-nord-ce-5g","tag-oxygenos","tag-p40-pro-plus","tag-poco-x3-pro","tag-pokemon","tag-premier-league","tag-pubg","tag-pubg-mobile","tag-redmi-note-10-pro","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-pay","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sports-cars","tag-steam","tag-steeam","tag-top-10-anime","tag-valorant","tag-when-do-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-does-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-is-the-iphone-7-coming-out","tag-world-cup","tag-xbox-series-x","tag-xiaomi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121466"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121786,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121466\/revisions\/121786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"h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