Chinese automakers are forcing the European automotive industry to change long-standing approaches to car development. To close the gap in the speed of new model launches and reduce software development costs, Europe's largest companies have begun to join forces in creating a common digital platform.
The Stellantis concern, which owns the Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and other brands, has joined the S-CORE project under the auspices of the Eclipse Foundation. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen Group, as well as suppliers Bosch, ZF, and Schaeffler, had previously become participants in the initiative.
The main goal of the project is to create a unified software foundation for future cars. Instead of each manufacturer developing basic digital systems from scratch, companies will be able to use a common platform and focus on their own technologies, interfaces, and unique features.
In essence, the European industry is trying to transfer the principle of component unification, which has long been used in mechanics, to the world of software. For example, the same ZF automatic transmission is used in cars of different brands, while maintaining individual settings for each brand.
The reason for such cooperation is obvious. Chinese manufacturers have significantly accelerated the development cycle of new models in recent years. While European companies are coordinating architecture and software solutions, Chinese brands manage to launch several new cars on the market.
China is moving forward and implementing solutions instead of endlessly discussing them
However, the new strategy also has risks. The more companies involved in developing a single platform, the more difficult it is to make decisions and maintain flexibility. In addition, even within the framework of cooperation, automakers are not ready to fully disclose their technological developments, as they continue to compete with each other.