Vehicle architecture is key to the software-defined CV

Commercial vehicles could learn from passenger vehicles’ journey into electrification. By Elle Farrell-Kingsley

The automotive industry’s transition to the electrified, software-defined vehicle is ongoing. Three powerful trends—electrification, automation and connectivity—are reshaping consumer expectations, and manufacturers are increasingly turning to software to address them. Premium vehicles today can have up to 150 million lines of code distributed across as many as 100 electronic control units (ECUs) and an expanding collection of cameras, radar, LiDAR, and other sensor devices. According to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the lines of code are projected to rise to 300 million by 2030.

Although electrifying the commercial vehicle (CV) sector has been challenging, Mordor Intelligence valued the electric CV market at US$719bn in 2020 and forecasted growth of 5.32% between 2021 and 2026. According to CV manufacturer MAN Truck and Bus, 80% of all CVs will be networked by 2030, meaning the prospect of a software-defined truck is well underway.

Vehicle architecture and connectivity are the two main challenges in electrifying and creating the software-defined truck. However, Mufaddel Dahodwala, Practice Director at KPIT, prefers to see them as opportunities. KPIT is a technology company working towards the realisation of the software-defined vehicle.