-
incumbent manufacturers have struggled enormously
It doesn't help that they all relay on a hugely complex supply chain of different component manufacturers to build their cars. Bosch modules for this and that, Siemens for others etc. It means they're super reliant on those suppliers to update their modules and work with them to deliver consolidated changes to the cars.
One of the smartest things Tesla did (though I'm pretty certain is was just to save a couple of $) was to get off the shelf parts and write their own integrations which means they own the end to end code across the entire car. It's why they're so successful at updating the cars capabilities and rolling out regular OTA updates.
Our MG4 went in for an update the other day because the lane keep assist was trying to assist us into oncoming cars and they updates 5 separate modules but not the infotainment etc. It's not coherent and they can't do it OTA.
You are reading a single comment by @andyp and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
Soul
@andyp
The increase in software needed for today's cars is exponential. I was reading something this week which estimates that there will soon be a billion lines of code in a car. Up until ten years ago, cars were almost entirely mechanical and the incumbent manufacturers have struggled enormously with this change in how they are built, which is why the likes of the Chinese manufacturers have gained such a large share of the market in a relatively short space of time.
Upcoming legislation, especially in the EU, will mean that the manufacturer will have to maintain and update that software for a minimum of five years after the date it's sold, so modern vehicles are becoming more akin to a data centre on wheels, maintained by a devops team.