Column: Auto industry software cure-all may cause headaches

It seems that software is to the auto industry what alcohol is to Homer Simpson: the cause of — and solution to — all of life's problems.

Software has become a huge part of modern life. And while we've all been told that autos today have multiple times more lines of code than the space shuttle did, the bold new frontier is for cars to have more — much more — software.

But it isn't easy. It isn't at the core of what automakers have traditionally done.

And while it's possible to add line after line of code, at some point, there's too much code and it takes too long to function — especially too long for a car to, say, drive itself. There are storage issues and transmission issues and plain old challenges with execution and accuracy.

So the solution is a full platform or architecture or operating system — and many automakers are working on just such a system. And it's hard.

Volkswagen reinvented itself around electrification and software. Batteries, motors, range and cost — challenging, but doable. A full-blown operating system — much, much harder.

VW's Cariad software division has missed deadlines and cost controls, which sources said played a large role in CEO Herbert Diess' ouster last year.

Now the leadership of the unit is being overhauled again, and the rollout of a Level 4 automated-driving-capable software platform has been delayed by two to four years, sources told Reuters.

Here's a hot buzzword: software-defined vehicle. This is meant to signal the shift from one that's fundamentally defined by mechanical engineering.

It sounds great, and when it works, it is great.

Tesla was able to overcome the shortage of automotive-grade semiconductors by reprogramming its firmware or operating system so that it could use the more-advanced chips that were available.

While others plants were idle, Tesla was able to keep cranking out its electric models and gained a ton of market share, becoming the top luxury brand in the U.S. by far.

It's not that established automakers have been ignoring software. They prioritize it; they just aren't as good at it yet.

As Urvaksh Karkaria reported last week, software setbacks have delayed the launch of critical vehicles in the Volvo Cars world: the Polestar 3 crossover and Volvo's upcoming flagship, the EX90.

General Motors is heavily involved in software-defined vehicles. Last month, it joined a consortium that promotes open-source software development called the Eclipse Foundation.

GM will work with the foundation's Software Defined Vehicle Working Group and contribute technology it calls uProtocol, which connects vehicle applications to the cloud and mobile devices and allows software components to communicate more easily across multiple operating systems.

Then last week, in a tacit acknowledgement of what talent is not already in GM's tubular towers, the company hired a new software chief from Apple, even as it is planning to keep Apple's CarPlay out of its future electric vehicles.

Toyota created a software unit that Chairman Akio Toyoda has indicated may subsume its automaking business, much as automaking did to its automated loom business in the past century.

Koji Sato, Toyoda's successor as CEO, has changed the unit's name to Woven by Toyota and separated its chief from the automaker's board. Some observers saw it as a de-emphasis of software while the world's largest automaker prioritizes EV development.

But Sato said the unit and its Arene software platform are critical to elevating the company's products.

"By listening to what cars have to say and by controlling information to a higher, more integrated degree, we can increase the value of cars in a way that is tailored to each customer, such as by improving fuel efficiency, optimizing ride quality and supporting safe driving," Sato said.

"The software platform Arene will help us to achieve that world," he said. "Arene will also lead to new services through collaboration with dealers and apps."

That sounds very hopeful. But cars don't run on hope. The industry and its software chiefs are under tremendous pressure to match Tesla's capabilities and to leapfrog Elon Musk's automaker in ancillary services that can generate billions in revenue and not lock up cars in ways that the corner mechanic can't fix.

Before it's all said and done, they may need a drink.