The Automotive industry’s inadequate approach towards software (in the cars)

Introduction The automotive industry has witnessed a paradigm shift with the increasing integration of software in vehicles. Modern cars are no longer just mechanical devices with a motor, wheels and steering; they are now sophisticated machines having dozens of CPUs (called ECU), entire computers, high speed network to connect them (called CAN-bus) and relying on complex highly distributed software systems. In my opinion, the industry fails to adapt to this new reality and fully embrace the concept of cars as hardware running software has significant consequences. This may sound contradictory at first, on one side they have these complex systems, on the other side they fail to adapt to this reality. In this article, I will explore how the automotive industry is not dealing correctly with this transformation and its potential implications.   Limited Focus on Software Development and Updates Traditionally, the automotive industry has primarily focused on hardware design and manufacturing, treating software as a necessary mean to make the hardware work. This approach results in a lack of emphasis on software development practices and updates capabilities. While cars are becoming more connected and dependent on software for various functionalities, manufacturers often overlook the importance of continuous software improvements…