Many within the industry believe that as the car becomes more connected and software orientated, content providers that in the past may not have been active within automotive, will become increasingly important. Automotive World spoke to Belen Aranda Colas, Director, Chassis Control Systems at Bosch, about the role of these typically non-automotive companies in the development of connected, electric and autonomous cars.
Why are typically non-automotive companies entering the automotive supply chain?
It’s not just the OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers anymore: other companies are entering now. This is because we are not talking only about driving a car, we are talking about the car being connected to the Internet and taking information from outside. The field has become bigger and bigger, and we need different players in there, bringing in their own know-how.
Do these companies have the potential to make a dent in the sales of companies such as Bosch and other large Tier 1s in future?
It’s a very good question and I would like to answer this as a consumer. When I want to buy a car, I would like to buy a car from someone that has very good knowledge in that area. When I want to buy a smartphone, I will buy a smartphone from someone that knows what he’s doing. So, in the end it’s a matter of trust, and every new player that enters this field has to prove his competence and know-how. Maybe in the future every one of us will be willing to buy everything from anyone, but my expectation right now is that that’s not the case.
Would you say it is a case of reputation, and some of these companies need to establish themselves as automotive players?
I don’t really know the strategy of Apple and Google, so it depends what they want to offer in this big field of automation. They are great at bringing information from outside into the vehicle, so why not?
What is important for us is that we are working with all players in the automotive market. It doesn’t matter if it’s a new player, for example like Google or Tesla. Both of them are our customers, but we are also working with the traditional OEMs such as Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, GM or Ford. So this is our role as a supplier in the automotive industry.
Have you seen greater relationships between suppliers and new companies?
Not in terms of discussing strategies, but we see more communication in terms of legislation topics where we as a supplier deliver technical information. There is a group in Germany called Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) where OEMs and suppliers are working together to discuss standards, and also the technology of automation.
There are three main trends we have identified: automation, electrification, and connectivity. And one day they will all come together. Cars will be electrified, connected and automated at the same time.
What are the barriers in that way of that becoming a reality?
From a technical point of view, we need really robust sensors in the vehicle. However, this is not the main barrier, as it is just a matter of time, it’s part of our normal development.
One topic from a technical point of view is validation. Usually, systems like electronic stability programme (ESP) are validated today by driving many kilometres. If we have to validate the whole system – the steering system, the braking system, radar and camera systems – the amount of kilometres of testing needed is huge. This is something we are working on, to find different solutions and different processes – like simulation – to reduce the effort in that.
The challenge, of course, is the topic of legislation. Right now we are not allowed to drive highly automated models on the road, and there are different opinions in different countries. If you look at the US, you have different opinions in every state. So we need a standard there, we need some changes to the current legislation.
Should there be a single global standard?
At the end, it would be helpful if we had some standards, at least in some regions. I would prefer to have one European standard than having one in the UK, one in Germany and one in Spain, for example. For sure the ideal would be if we had a standard worldwide, that would be easier.
Freddie Holmes
