In the great transformation of the automobile, if the electrical revolution is causing much ink to flow, we know less about that of on-board intelligence. It’s a fact: cars look more and more like smartphones on wheels. Within them is an operating system, in other words the combination of software which now fully controls a vehicle, from its basic operation (engine, braking, road holding) to information and entertainment tools. And this operating system is fast becoming the essential part of the automobile.
“We estimate that in 2030 all that is software will represent 60% of the value of a vehicle against around 20% today”, explains José Baghdad, partner in charge of the automotive sector at the consulting firm PwC France and Maghreb. This changes, casually, a large part of the profession of car manufacturers, now required to sell their customers computer capacity as well as mechanical performance.
Computer bugs
Illustration with BMW, which presented in March its 2020 results and its outlook for the current year. On this occasion, the Munich giant announced as one of its marketing assets the launch of the BMW OS 8 operating system: “ The most powerful on-board data processing system ever developed by the BMW Group ” indicates the press release. First installed on the brand’s new electric SUV, the BMW iX, “BMW OS 8 should equip 2.5 million vehicles by the end of 2021”, specifies Franck Weber, responsible for the development of the Bavarian brand.
Here clearly, the model is Tesla, although it is never named. The Californian manufacturer invented the computer-car improved by a simple connection to the cloud (cloud computing). And now everyone is inspired by it. “BMW will have the largest vehicle fleet capable of remote updates, underlines Mr. Weber. A BMW with OS 8 will be able, thanks to 5G, to transfer 30 gigabits per second. “
Three entities should share the market – manufacturers, major equipment manufacturers, high-tech giants – in a complex game combining competition and partnership
Another German giant, Volkswagen, is putting the package on these subjects. The Wolfsburg group plans to invest 27 billion euros in software by 2025. An entity called “Car. Software “ has been launched in 2020 to work on “VW.OS”, the future operating system common to the cars of the German group. Volkswagen, stung by the computer bugs that disrupted the production of the electric ID3 and the new Golf, wants, within four years, to develop internally 60% of the software used in its cars, while today , 90% are supplied by equipment manufacturers. Stellantis is also thinking about re-insourcing the production of its software.
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