Last month, my car went into the shop for its third software-related recall in six months. Once again the friendly guys at the dealership were unable to install the necessary update on their own. Instead our now-undriveable SUV sat on their lot, awaiting its turn with experts at BMW headquarters. The queue took four days. That delay was both painful and pointless. Automakers learned long ago to have the necessary parts and labour on hand before calling in a vehicle for a physical recall.
When Gartner ranked carmakers on their digital performance last year, the top seven were all Chinese and US EV makers, including Rivian, Tesla and Nio, and the traditional manufacturers posted a woeful average score of 33 out of 100. Software woes have delayed recent launches at Volvo and General Motors, among others. Volkswagen executives grew so frustrated with their internal software development that they signed a $5bn tie up with Rivian last summer.