Not only advantages

The curse and blessing of the software world in cars

(Bild: Nio)

Over-the-air updates, software-defined vehicles, central operating systems: Car customers are increasingly being wooed with potential miracle functions from the digitally networked world. However, the drive towards computers on wheels also has economic reasons that are of little benefit to people in cars.

When the Nio ET5 first rolled onto German roads almost two years ago (the Chinese manufacturer is not yet represented in Austria), it already had something special to offer: After all, elegant saloons were rather thin on the ground among the SUV monotony of electric car competitors. Unfortunately, the Chinese vehicles sometimes behaved in a rather un-limousine-like manner. With Lane Keeping Assist activated, for example, the car usually swung back and forth slightly drunkenly between the right and left edge of the road. On the other hand, the Nio would beep hysterically into the passengers' brains at the slightest lane change.

In addition to the lane guidance assistant, the matrix light was also improved in the Nio ET5.

(Bild: Nio)

Now, less than two years later, the same car confidently stays in the middle of the selected lane. And anyone maneuvering through roadworks, for example, is no longer constantly annoyed by overly cautious warning messages. The person at the wheel is happy to pass on their praise for the performance to the spherical on-board companion "Nomi" on the dashboard - like this: "Hey Nomi - let me give you some feedback: the latest update really makes the ET5 more pleasant to drive."

Customers improve the software
Behind the improvement is the vehicle's constant connection to the programmers' cloud. The feedback from owners has reached them virtually since the first vehicle was sold - and has led to constant improvements deep within the car's operating system. "Our users drive Nio's updates with suggestions and experiences. Our Banyan operating system is an example of this," says Benjamin Steinmetz, software expert at the car manufacturer. The current version of the Banyan operating system therefore contains more than 50 updates.

Now, for example, the voice control suddenly understands the driver much better, the infotainment also shows films from the Disney range and the Matrix headlights blend out oncoming traffic even more accurately on high beam.

More and more manufacturers are promising their customers such optimizations overnight - and without a visit to the workshop. Over the air, i.e. from the manufacturer's heavily secured cloud, new miracles are constantly being added to the vehicle. Most providers have so far limited themselves to improvements in comfort functions, infotainment, navigation or user interfaces. But some can also intervene in engine control and powertrain management, driver assistance systems, safety features or battery management. This is when the software, sensors and control units are deeply interwoven - and based on a central mastermind. Then the journey will be very close to the so-called "software-defined vehicle" that the entire industry adores.

Not just Tesla as a role model
The role model in the industry is Tesla with its "Tesla OS" (OS for operating system) - but it is actually smartphone giants such as Samsung or Xiaomi. They have shown how hardware can be kept fresh without expensive unscrewing. The basis for this is, in fact, a joint effort that anyone can have for free: Linux.

Even today, this basis for an operating system does not cost a cent. Free programmers once developed it as a free competitor to the all-powerful Windows from software giant Microsoft. Free then became big business - with the best-known Linux offshoot Android. Today, it runs on almost 90 percent of all smartphones worldwide and is now also used as the Android Automotive operating system in vehicles from Renault, GM, Volvo and Polestar, for example.

This enables manufacturers to offer a seamless experience that is deeply integrated into the vehicle architecture. New driving functions, intervention in a large number of control units and the particularly smooth integration of almost everything that customers know from their cell phones? Android's parent company Alphabet delivers it overnight in cooperation with the manufacturers.

The Polestar 2 also runs the Android-based operating system.

(Bild: Polestar)

It gets expensive in the long run
But not as free as the Linux software of the programming pirates of the past. And that is one reason why manufacturers such as Lucid, Nio, BYD and Tesla are trying to retain control over the brains of their own vehicles with their own Linux-based operating systems. On the one hand, suppliers of the central software basis demand money for this - and on the other hand, they also want to earn money from additional business. Because some upgrades from manufacturers are not free.

For example, suppliers such as Audi or BMW charge extra fees if better headlights or steering wheel heating are ordered wirelessly in the most modern vehicles. After a few years, many companies also want to charge for updates, i.e. access to the latest software version. Without this, however, it is not possible to keep the navigation system fresh or to keep popular apps on the touchscreen. Many people are already familiar with this from older cell phones, which at some point are no longer supplied with the latest software base.

Having your own operating system also opens up a cornucopia of additional business. Apple or Google, for example, earn money from every download from their own app store - and have thus become the most valuable companies in the world. These gold mines remain closed to car manufacturers who do not have their own operating system. If you use Spotify in a Renault, for example, you leave the app provider and the Android automotive parent company Alphabet alone to earn money. And with the YouTube app on the Peugeot touchscreen via Apple CarPlay, Google and Apple earn money for its use.

Car manufacturers want to be flexible
In addition to these businesses of the future, there is another reason for car manufacturers to install as much software and a single central operating system in their vehicles as possible: This overall concept enables faster innovation cycles with more flexible and customized features and functions, all defined and controlled by a central software. "The more you develop yourself here, the more flexible you are - in terms of adapting the system, but also in terms of updatability," explains Nio expert Steinmetz.

This operating system basis can also be continuously developed further, regardless of the model or its generation - Microsoft has already reached Windows version 11 and Google Android 15. Similarly continuous OS maintenance in the vehicle significantly reduces overall costs, explains John Heinlein from automotive software specialist Sonatus. The wiring in such software-defined vehicles is also less complex and therefore lighter, which reduces manufacturing costs and vehicle weight and makes repair and maintenance easier.

So if you buy a modern vehicle in 2025, you will quite often get a car with functions that grow with your needs and technical progress. This means that the vehicle will still be technically up to date even after many years, or a second owner can upgrade it with functions - at least as long as the hardware in the form of the central on-board computer still plays along in terms of capacity and speed. But most customers are already familiar with this problem from their PC or cell phone.

And so the new software world in cars also has its disadvantages. Cars are launched on the market with unfinished and therefore annoying software, costs may be incurred regularly at some point and at some point the fun stops. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether this is an advantage over classically built cars that are not yet so dependent on updates. Alternatives are becoming rare on the new car market.