🧮Autowist Report 80

Volvo Capital Market Day, ADs in Infotainment Systems, Ford's Patent, Mercedes -> China , Tesla Domain Controller Breakdown Pics

Author

Harikrishnan Radhakrishnan
September 06, 2024

In today’s Autowist Report 80

  • Volvo Capital Market Day

  • ADs in Infotainment Systems, Ford's Patent

  • Mercedes -> China

  • Tesla Domain Controller Breakdown Pics

  • From Twitter

Update

Key points from the recent Volvo Capital Market Day:

The Volvo ES90 will share the SPA2 architecture with the EX90 and target global markets, with China potentially being the biggest market.Learnings from the EX90 and ES90 will contribute to the development of the EX60, a mid-size electric SUV that will compete with the Tesla Model Y.The EX60 will be based on the next-gen SPA3 platform, featuring Tesla-like mega castings and Volvo's most advanced software.

SPA3 will be an evolutionary update on top of SPA2. SPA3 will still use NVIDIA DRIVE Orin.The SPA3 platform will feature third-generation electric motors with 93% efficiency (up from 91% in SPA2) and structural battery packs with high energy density cells.

Volvo is expanding its partnership with Nvidia to include the Drive Thor SoC for future models, capable of 1,000 TOPS, likely starting with the EX60.Volvo announced their superset techstack. A set of building blocks that they can use in many different types of deployments.

Volvo will be sending out the updates over the course of next year. They are over-the-air updates. The Volvos that are compatible are those with an Android-based operating system built in 2020 or later. This includes a long list of models including the following: C40, XC40, EX40, EC40, S60, V60, V60 Cross Country, XC60, S90, V90, V90 Cross Country and XC90.

Here’s my take:

  1. Kudos to Volvo for sticking to their existing platform and using that as the basis for their new generation platform SPA3. I see many OEMs, due to various reasons, struggle with staying on a platform. Every development project ends up being a new platform.

  2. Close and direct collaboration with CHIP vendors like NVIDIA and Qualcomm are beginning to payoff. From an automotive OEM's perspective, we are barely a large customer for these companies. The main reason as to why I think this is important is the realization that "You can only abstract so much in SW" and when we get into the details we understand what can be limitations or enablers if we had a different HW platform. And this requires a close working relationship with chip vendors.

  3. Superset techstack is in my view the way to go. Instead of projects and programs in the driving seat, the superset platform has to have a life of it's own where all resources can be used for it's development. And the various outcomes of the platform is merely an abstraction. Remember, it is always easier to take things out of the platform than to add it last minute.

Ford has applied for a patent to use interior microphones to serve targeted ads based on voice commands and navigation data. The system could listen to conversations and adapt future ads based on user reactions. While the patent exists, there is no certainty it will be implemented in future vehicles.Car companies, including Ford, are exploring new revenue streams, such as selling data and offering subscription services. The system could present ads relevant to a user’s location or preferences, like suggesting nearby restaurants. It raises concerns about data privacy, but it’s unclear if or when this technology will be used.

In my opinion, infotainment systems becoming an online extension of a persons digital ecosystem is inevitable. The real question is, who will win from that the consumer, OEMs or big tech?

GM recently has been under fire for selling data. Though it is a new revenue stream, selling data is a grey area. But what GM could do, is to sell the insight from the data instead of the data itself.

As internet becomes more present even in the vehicle and there is a full fledged browser, the ad pixels would still works as they work on a laptop.

Ad pixels are tiny, invisible images embedded in websites or emails to track user behavior. When loaded, they collect data like page views, device info, and user actions, helping advertisers analyze performance, retarget users, and measure conversions.

Mercedes-Benz announced a 14 billion yuan (2 billion USD) investment in China to expand its product lineup, with new models starting production in 2025.The investment includes over 10 billion yuan for passenger vehicles and 4 billion yuan for light commercial vehicles. New models like the all-electric long-wheelbase CLA, long-wheelbase GLE SUV, and a luxury electric MPV will be locally produced by Mercedes' joint ventures Beijing Benz and Fujian Benz.The China-exclusive GLE SUV will focus on rear-seat comfort and intelligent technologies developed by Mercedes' Chinese R&D team.Mercedes' new MB.OS operating system will debut with these models, including a virtual assistant and "end-to-end" smart driving solutions.Other German automakers, including Volkswagen and BMW, are also significantly increasing their investments in China, localizing operations to compete with rising domestic automakers in the electric vehicle market.

It is becoming more and more apparent that the Chinese market needs for in-vehicle entertainment to just be even competitive to other Chinese OEM offerings is much ahead than rest of the world that there is a need for a "Chinese R&D Team". But even if the cars were having a feature parity to what the Chinese market, there is a certain level feedback that you need to conform future generations of the product closely with the market. Trying to do that in Europe wouldn't be the best strategy.

Ola Källenius, Chairman of Board of Management of the Mercedes of Mercedes-Benz Group, on his fourth China visit this year stated “The Chinese market is one of the key pillars of Mercedes-Benz Group’s global strategy and is a major driving force behind our transition to electrification and technological innovation. Mercedes-Benz remains committed to long-term investment in China, deeply engaging in and contributing to the upgrading of the Chinese automotive industry.”

It would be interesting to see if their MB.OS that will debut in China will be a "skin" on MB.OS or if it will be a different variant altogether.

Tesla Domain Controller Teardown Pics (Link)

From Twitter