Stellantis announced a software strategy “to deploy next-generation tech platforms, building on existing connected vehicle capabilities to transform how customers interact with their vehicles” and to generate EUR20bn in incremental annual revenue by 2030.
This will move the automaker’s vehicles from today’s dedicated electronic architectures to an open software-defined platform which “seamlessly integrates with customers’ digital lives”.
It greatly expands the options customers have to add innovative features and services via regular over-the-air (OTA) updates “keeping vehicles fresh, exciting and updated years after they have been built”.
“Our electrification and software strategies will support the shift to become a sustainable mobility tech company to lead the pack, leveraging the associated business growth with over-the-air features and services and delivering the best experience to our customers,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO.
“With the three new, AI-powered, technology platforms to arrive in 2024, deployed across the four STLA vehicle platforms, we will leverage the speed and agility associated with the decoupling of hardware and software cycles.”
Stellantis plans to spend EUR30bn through 2025 to execute its software and electrification transformation.
Stellantis will grow its software and connected services business through services and subscriptions, features on demand, data as a service and fleet services, vehicle pricing and resale value plus conquests, service retention and cross selling.
Today, Stellantis has 12m ‘monetisable’ connected cars globally. By 2026, this is expected to grow to 26m and generate EUR4bn in revenue and, by 2030, it will reach 34m and EUR20bn in annual revenue. Monetisable is defined as the vehicle’s first five years of life.
Leveraging its data collection capabilities, in 2022, Stellantis will launch a usage-based insurance programme offered through the captive finance arms in Europe and North America, with the intent to expand globally.
Launching in 2024, the three new platforms will be deployed, at scale, across the four vehicle platforms over the following two years.
The heart of the transformation to customer-centric services is the new electrical/electronic (E/E) and software architecture, STLA Brain.
STLA Brain is fully OTA capable, with 30 modules addressed, versus 10 today, making it highly flexible. It is a service-oriented architecture fully integrated with the cloud that connects electronic control units within the vehicle with the vehicle’s central high-performing computer (HPC) via a high-speed data bus. It breaks today’s bond between hardware and software generations, enabling software developers to create and update features and services quickly without waiting for a new hardware launch.
These OTA updates dramatically reduce costs for both the customers and Stellantis, simplify maintenance for the user and sustain vehicle residual values.
STLA SmartCockpit, built on top of STLA Brain, will seamlessly integrate with the digital lives of vehicle occupants to create a customisable third living space. Studies show that customers spend an average of four years of their lives in their vehicles and this is only increasing.
STLA SmartCockpit, powered by the Mobile Drive joint venture between Stellantis and Foxconn, delivers AI-based applications, such as navigation, voice assistance, e-commerce marketplace and payment services.
STLA AutoDrive, developed in partnership with BMW, will offer Level 2, Level 2+ and Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities and will be continuously upgraded through OTA updates.
Through software and on-demand features, Stellantis is providing customers with the ability to tailor their vehicles to individual needs and desires through OTA updates, further increasing the unique qualities of the varied brands and strengthening the bond between the vehicle and driver.
Year to date, Stellantis has delivered 6m OTA updates to its vehicles and intends to offer at least quarterly releases by 2026.
Today, Stellantis’ connected vehicles provide more than 3 trillion data points. Stellantis engineers are using this information to shorten the vehicle continuous improvement loop, improving customer satisfaction, while generating EUR1.1bn in efficiencies by 2030.
Stellantis is creating a software and data academy to retrain 1,000 internal engineers in multiple roles and develop its software community.
The company is also hiring top software and AI talent from technology and other industries globally.
By 2024, Stellantis targets having 4,500 efficiency-driven software engineers, creating talent hubs around the globe.