Working together on vehicle software development
Pick up the pace! The German automotive industry – all the carmakers and the three largest suppliers – want to develop software for vehicles together and faster. This makes sense, as it not only shortens the work time, but also reduces costs. It's about basic software with functions that car manufacturers can't differentiate from one another anyway: System and communication services. To draw a comparison: There is no need for several people to invent the wheel on their own.
However, it took a long time for this realisation to take place within the industry. The initiative launched by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has come quite late. The complex legal preparations further delayed the project. Until now, car manufacturers have worked on the software-defined vehicle on their own – albeit with partners from the supplier and technology sectors. This has cost more time and money than would have been necessary. The failures of Cariad, Volkswagen's software subsidiary, are spectacular. This company is now being reorganised and around a third of the jobs will be cut.
Not from one day to the next
Bringing the developments of the various companies together on one platform at an advanced stage is a challenging task, and cannot be solved overnight. But a start has been made. For the German automotive industry, it is a question of asserting itself in competition with the US technology groups for the vehicles of the future. Of course, this does not rule out co-operation with these companies. Mercedes-Benz, for example, uses Google's navigation technology for its own operating system.
Infotainment is also a field for meaningful cooperation with technology companies. The situation is somewhat different for the classic elements and functions of a car, such as the drive, steering and brakes. This must remain the domain of the German automotive industry if it wants to remain the architect of its products and retain the added value for the vehicle of the future – the software-defined car. The initiative can make a contribution to this. It comes late, but not too late.
