OEMs
When the OEMs invite the wolves to guard the henhouse.
This has ALWAYS been a headscratcher to me with some automakers, the ones who’ve allowed customers to bypass their native infotainment systems for the likes of Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto. I mean, I kinda understand why they did it but this will become SACRED land for the automakers in the very near future as more services are offered via each vehicle’s operating/infotainment system so if they concede it now to outsiders that really know what to do with it, they may NEVER get it back definitely NOT willingly.
And it’s only going to get worse. Google, Blackberry, and other tech companies are already rolling out complete auto OS’s because they know the market potential are fighting to be the one to provide that software to millions of vehicles globally. The OEMs need to have a cohesive, complete, internally developed HW/SW stack for their vehicles in order to maintain complete control of the user experience, data, and revenue-generating service offerings developed from that data.
Right now, if I am an OEM and my customers decide to use CarPlay instead of my system, all the revenue generated from apps purchased but used while in the vehicle will be captured completely by Apple. Partnering with a tech company more formally so that they provide the software plays further into the tech cos. hands as mentioned earlier. The only way to exclusively capture the lion’s share of the revenue is to put in the hard work and develop your own stack. Look at Tesla, it’s one of the reasons they’re so far ahead of the automakers, they do most of their SW dev in-house. They’re even designing their own silicon.
I get that the OEMs’ initial attempts at designing and developing the stack internally left A LOT to be desired but so what? Tech companies know that in order to get the product right, they need to iterate, in some cases, a lot in order to put an acceptable piece of SW/tech out in the market. Maybe the OEMs’ constraint is not having the horses internally to be competitive in the race, but those decisions made years ago to kick that can down the road for whatever reason and not hire a substantial, formidable software development team is likely going to bite them where the sun doesn’t shine in the near future. That’s why we have SO many partnerships. These guys didn’t want to put in the work!
The fact of the matter is, some of the automakers can pull themselves back from the brink if they can swallow that pride, get rid of dead weight or in other words right-size, getting much smaller in some cases, and overpay for the resources that’ll put them on a path in the right direction. Otherwise, as Frank would croon, ‘Regrets, I’ve had a few…’
#CarPlay #AndroidAuto #AndroidAutomotiveOS #Blackberry #QNX #needdevs
What’s this all about?? VW CEO genuflects when Elon visits…
I am sure that Diess has a good relationship with Elon but man, seeing him post pictures & videos of Elon driving the new ID3 & 4 and having Elon needle him about the features in the vehicles must be pretty demoralizing if I am a VW employee. As if Elon needed another stroke of his ego.
This is your competitor and the market leader for god’s sake! Have some PRIDE! You don’t have to so willingly raise the white flag and get Elon’s approval that you ‘did good.’ Just seems not right.
#VW #Tesla #Diess #Elon #wecannotbefriends #testdrive #itsok
EVs
It’s about time. A worthy adversary for Tesla? Polestar – Welcome to the Terrordome!
Polestar, a JV between Geely and Volvo, and their first product - the Polestar 2 - was reviewed by the LA Times and was deemed a worthy adversary and competitor to the Tesla Model 3, although the vehicle is a bit more expensive.
I won’t get into too many details about the review except that the reviewer said in so many words that the Polestar is the EV for adults vs. the Model 3 which has a bit more style and excitement. As far as I can tell, there was really nothing about the design, technology, or user experience that stuck out when comparing to the Model 3.
I grabbed this headline because it’s about TIME that an automaker launches a vehicle that at least in this reviewer’s eyes, seems to be able to compete with Tesla in every major way. Unfortunately, I think Polestar really missed an important opportunity to go for it and put something out on the road that would’ve redefined the segment and what EVs are and more importantly, what they can be.
Here’s to hoping that one of the OEMs in the near future really takes on that challenge and hits it out of the ballpark. It’s not likely going to be VW brand, see earlier post.
#Polestar #LATimes #truecompetitor #missedopportunity #goodfirsteffort
AVs
Here’s a suggestion on how to determine who will ultimately be the winners in the autonomous vehicle race.
There’s a reasonable view that the great AI companies two important criteria that will separate them from their competition. First, great AI companies will be able to narrow their company’s scope to solve for a specific business challenge. Second, great AI companies will have expertise in both data science and software architecture. This theory seems pretty reasonable and logical but will it hold true?
In the case of autonomous vehicle startups, I would think that their fundraising capabilities will play a major role in whether or not they’ll be successful since we know that it’s not going to be cheap to put L5 autonomous vehicles on the road in volume. In addition to deep pockets, finding partner(s) that are not only compatible but that actually can enhance what the AV company brings to the table should be pretty high up there as criteria for success. It’s not enough to find another company that will allow you to do your thing, that company needs to help you turn your power into a ‘superpower.’
#keystowinning #makessense #butthatisnotall #greatAIcompanies