Software République, the great alliance for software in the automotive and mobility industry will be born on April 14th. Renault, in fact, has convened the media to reveal the structure and role of an organization wanted by the CEO of the French company, the Italian Luca De Meo, aims to develop hardware and software, to devise new forms of mobility and also (but it is secondary) to create new generation cars. In recent months, De Meo had announced its intention to create a mega pole ofinformation technology to develop artificial intelligence systems, next generation sensors and machine learning. The car takes a back seat because Renault aims to transform itself from a hardware company (cars) to a software and services company, in a sort of emulation of the great hi-tech companies of the past such as IBM that transformed itself more than 25 years ago radically.
With Software Republique, Renault has summoned the holy monsters of the French IT industry: Acts specialist in ICT services and software, one of the few to compete with the big Americans, Dassault Systems, world number one in 3D design software e St, the Italian-French giant of chips and sensors. St is one of the few European players that has a weight in the semiconductor industry. But in Software République there is also Thales, a great player in electronics applied to aerospace. In short, a pool of French companies to create the transalpine pole of hi-tech cars and mobility. Not much is known about plans and objectives yet and we will have to wait until next Friday. But one thing is certain: Renault seems to want to accelerate on the software within the industrial plan baptized of the new strategic plan baptized “Renaulution”.
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And the creation of Software Republic is something with which Volkswagen group, Stellantis and Toyota will have to deal. It has been understood for some time that software is the backbone, indeed the chassis of the car of the future and of the mobility of the next few years, since microelectronics has become dominant in cars. Until now, houses have relied on external suppliers, as if hardware, chips, and software were a foreign body and for too long they have considered information technology an element to be managed and integrated but not to be governed and owned.
Things have changed profoundly with the advent of assisted driving systems, with the idea of autonomous driving, with electrification and with sharing. In short, the world of the car described by the acronym C.A.S.E. (Connected – Autonomous – Shared & Electric) he is hungry for software. Volkswagen has understood this by launching a strategy desired by CEO Herbert Diess to strengthen activities on this front. Mercedes has understood this well and considers it strategic and wants to develop it internally. With Software République, Renault could go further, towards the creation of a macro incubator of ide, software and start-ups to design the car of tomorrow.
Will it be the right way? Hard to say. Also because if car manufacturers are hungry for software and turn into hi-tech companies, on the other hand we have giants like Apple who must understand if there is life beyond the iPhone because the smartphone market is no longer enough also because it is in a crisis of ideas, profits and volumes. In recent months we are witnessing the great return of the chimerical Apple Car, the car of the Apple that according to the storytelling should change the history of the four wheels. Insistent rumors returned regardless of the fact that the Cupertino house had shut down the project two years ago Titan. Could this be the right time? hard to say. Despite its enormous wealth, Apple is unable to build a car: it needs a partner. And in the meantime Xiaomi, Chinese hi-tech giant and big smartphone and IOT, has declared that it will build electric cars with a ten billion plan. In short, the car game seems to get complicated not a little between hardware, software, sheets and batteries. And in the field there are also component manufacturers, Bosch, Harman, Magneti Marelli and Continental.