The challenge of technological change in the automotive industry

Abstract

The technology deployed on vehicles, particularly luxury vehicles, has undergone a revolution in the last 10 years. On a modern luxury vehicle, virtually all functionality is delivered via software-based control units, with most communicating over vehicle networks. This is being driven by the availability of the technology and the need to offer the market ever more distinctive and appealing vehicles. The public appetite for such technology seems to know no bounds. The engineering of many of the new features and supporting technologies needs the discipline of functional safety, and a new automotive standard on functional safety is due to be published in October 2011. This paper summaries the recent changes in vehicle features and their enabling technologies, discusses the challenges that these represent to the industry and how the new functional safety standard can help meet some of these challenges while presenting challenges of its own. help meet some of these challenges while presenting challenges of its own. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012.