Tesla pioneered over-the-air (OTA) software program updates as a handy approach so as to add new options and repair points. Legacy automakers have been sluggish to catch up—and there is a motive for that, says Ford CEO Jim Farley.

To avoid wasting prices, Ford farmed out improvement of auto management modules, which govern the operation of every thing from engines to seat adjusters, to suppliers like Bosch, Farley explains on a latest episode of the Absolutely Charged Present podcast, beginning across the 25-minute mark. This permits Ford to pit suppliers towards every in aggressive bidding, saving about $500 per automobile produced, however means Ford should use a provider’s software program for a given module.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning

“They do not speak to one another,” Farley stated. “So although it says ‘Ford’ on the entrance, I’ve to go to Bosch and get permission to alter their seat-control software program.”

The suppliers personal the software program in modules they provide to Ford, and the sheer variety of suppliers—about 150, in response to Farley—makes managing automobile software program tough.

Ford is making an attempt to handle this by utterly in-sourcing its next-generation electrical structure, Farley stated, and writing extra software program in-house. However that presents its personal problem. Engineers used to engaged on earlier generations of inside combustion automobiles lack the mandatory software program expertise, whereas devoted software program engineers lack expertise with safety-critical automotive programs, Farley stated, citing this as a motive for the corporate’s 2022 enterprise break up into EV and non-EV passenger-car items. 

Ford started a shift to OTA updates with the Mustang Mach-E electrical crossover, and has added options like enhanced Amazon Alexa voice controls this manner. For a number of the earliest clients, Ford additionally enabled its BlueCruise driver-assist system by an OTA replace after buy. However different automakers have been extra nimble with OTA updates.

Whereas some recollects nonetheless require a service middle go to, Tesla has been capable of eradicate the necessity for a lot of by importing new software program. Lucid even narrowed a recall pool with a chunk of software program pushed to its automobiles. Jaguar, in the meantime, confirmed the chances for legacy automakers with an OTA replace to battery power management module software program addressing battery hearth considerations.