Software in Driver's Seat
Is the Greatest Value in Automobile Industry in Software?
FUTURE PROOF – BLOG BY FUTURES PLATFORM
French PSA bought car brands Vauxhall and Opel from GM at 2,2 Billion euros impacting 40.000 employees in Europe. Intel bought a self-driving software company Mobileye for 14 Billion euros involving 600 employees mostly in Israel.
The difference in evaluation suggests that analysts consider car and traffic software to be a much more viable industry in the future than the sheer manufacturing of cars. This said, Opel and Vauxhall were producing a steady deficit.
Interestingly enough, it is believed that the nation states France, Germany and The UK will battle to keep the factory jobs of Vauxhall and Opel within their countries. Car manufacturing in Europe and the US has been less profitable, and more an interest to politicians.
Trump’s presidency and the anti environmentalism in the US could also have been a factor in the recent acquisition. Europe will have higher emission standards than US and needs therefore more intense product development.
Software for driving and monitoring cars will not be tied to particular brands. What if there will be a “Google for cars” or similar dominant operating and auto-navigation system? It is not surprising that software is in the driver’s seat when seeking a profitable sector within the car industry, especially in developed economies.
Cory Johnson on Bloomberg points out that Intel missed out on mobile phone market. With Mobileye, Intel wants to be at the heart of new mobility based on software from self-driving cars to assisted driving.
Futures Platform is a proven online solution to support continuous foresight, strategy development, risk management, and groundbreaking innovation. Access a new era of futures knowledge and start your foresight work today .
The autonomous vehicle is set to be as life-changing as the invention of the motor vehicle itself. Modern-day cities have been shaped largely by the mobility that is achieved through motor vehicles, providing transport services to people and goods alike and supported by major road networks worldwide.