Automotive Software Market

Automotive Software Market Statistics - 2027

The global automotive software market was valued at $18.5 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $43.5 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 14.5% from 2020 to 2027.     

The automotive industry is facing a sharp drop in demand and investment. Automotive OEMs and many mobility players have recorded some of the hardest hit in the automotive industry due to COVID-19. This could lead to a direct long-term impact on the automotive industry too due to the macroeconomic trends, changing consumer behavior and regulatory developments.

Automotive software is a collected programmable data instruction used for performing operations of computer-based in-vehicle applications. Automotive software also refers to the software used for in-vehicle embedded systems. Computer-based in-vehicle applications include telematics, infotainment, powertrain, body control and comfort, communication, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and safety. The automotive industry is moving toward an era where cars will communicate with each other and to drivers. These advancements in technology have challenged automotive makers to incorporate automotive software solutions that will offer greater utility and convenience to their customers.

The factors such as adoption of ADAS features in vehicles, increasing adoption of connected car services, and intervention of innovative technologies for advanced UI are expected to drive the market growth. However, lack of standard protocols to develop software platforms, lack of connected infrastructure, and troubleshooting and maintenance of automotive software hinders the market growth. Further, potential of 5G and AI, growing developments in semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles and data monetization in extended automotive ecosystem are some of the factors that are expected to offer lucrative opportunities for automotive software market growth. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G have an important role in the future of the automotive industry as predictive capabilities are becoming more prevalent in cars, personalizing the driving experience. More manufacturers are applying algorithms that use data to automate the process of setting up a vehicle, including a car’s infotainment system and its application preferences. In addition, vehicles are becoming IoT devices which can connect to smartphones and take voice commands, changing the user interface with the help of AI. Moreover, 5G is better equipped to carry out critical communications for safer driving, support enhanced vehicle-tovehicle (V2V) communication, and connected mobility solutions. Also, 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) are included in current trends in automotive software architectures to enhance comfort, safety and overall performance thus, automotive organizations have already initiated to invest in this trend. Therefore, the extensive range of applications of 5G and AI in the future mobility is expected to offer the lucrative growth opportunities for the automotive software market in near future. For instance, in November 2019, HERE, a pioneer in digital mapping, in-car navigation, joined the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) to develop endto-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. Also, in July 2020, Mercedes introduced MBUX system, which offers AI-powered voice control for the infotainment system.

Moreover, Semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles are largely dependent on software, and the increasing effort to deploy autonomous driving features is positively impacting the automotive software market growth. Several vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Volvo, Ford and others, are integrating Level 1 and Level 2 autonomous technology in their vehicles; some models with Level 3 autonomy were also launched in 2019. Also, one major trend emerging in the global automotive sector is vehicle connectivity. The connectivity ecosystem of automotive includes various stakeholders such as insurers, cellular network providers, software providers, IT companies, and hardware and electronic devices providers. Vehicles are now able to capture and share many types of data, including geolocation, vehicle performance, driver behavior, and biometrics data. Hence, it is a dynamic ecosystem where every stakeholder including software providers monetizes the data generated from the vehicles. In addition, the growing attraction of connected cars has compelled automotive companies to develop skills in web technology, chip design, and embedded systems, starting with smartphone integration. Therefore, the data monetization is expected to create growth opportunities for the automotive software market in near future.

The global automotive software market is segmented on the basis of application, product, vehicle type and region. Based on application, it is classified into safety system, infotainment & telematics, powertrain and chassis. By product, it is divided into operating system, middleware, and application software. On the basis of vehicle type, it is categorized into ICE passenger car, ICE light commercial vehicle, ICE heavy commercial vehicle, battery electric vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and autonomous vehicles. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA are the regions across which the global automotive software market report has been studied.  

The growing vehicle production, increase in the number of connected cars developments, rapidly changing invehicle electronics architecture, C-V2X technology developments, and expansion of leading OEMs are the factors contributing to automotive software market growth in U.S. For instance, in September 2020, Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. entered into a partnership with leading Internet-of-Things technology providers Aeris and Dealer-FX to leverage connected car technology. Through integrations with the Aeris Mobility Services and Dealer-FX ONE platforms, the My MITSUBISHI CONNECT mobile app will enable Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross drivers service to view real-time service and maintenance needs, as reported by the vehicles. The adoption of the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) & safety system has increased due to increasing demand for safety & security concerns along with the government regulations is fueling the growth of the automotive software market in the U.S. For instance, in February 2019, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has mandate that every new vehicle sold in the U.S. features crash-avoidance technology and autonomous emergency braking systems by 2020.

Key players operating in the global automotive software market include Adobe Inc., Airbiquity Inc., Atego Systems Inc. (PTC), Autonet Mobile, Inc., Blackberry Limited, Goggle, Green Hills Software, Microsoft Corporation, Montavista Software, and Wind River Systems, Inc. 

Key Developments:

• In August 2020, Google announced some major updates for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS, which are expected to expand the reach of the two platforms and make it easier for app developers to create apps for the platforms. Google plans to release the new APIs for all developers and help them reach more drivers with their in-car apps.
• In July 2020, BlackBerry Limited signed an agreement with electric vehicle (EV) startup Canoo to provide BlackBerry QNX operating system (OS), including radar sensors, parking sensors and cameras for Canoo’s ADAS systems of autonomous EVs.
• In January 2020, BlackBerry Limited announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to demonstrate a connected vehicle software platform for in-vehicle applications that combines the safety and security of BlackBerry’s QNX real-time operating system with AWS’ Internet of Things (IoT) Services in the cloud and in the car. The platform enables automotive manufacturers to securely access data from vehicle sensors, and create software applications and machine-learning models for connected, electric, and autonomous vehicles.
• In December 2019, Microsoft Corporation formed a strategic collaboration with ZF, a German technology and car parts supplier, for software-driven mobility solutions. With the partnership, the company aims to scale its global resources and respond to evolving customer needs efficiently. Working with Microsoft, it will leverage Azure cloud services and developer tools.

Adoption of ADAS features in vehicles

In recent years, the automotive industry has witnessed huge developments in self-driving car technology, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is one of the main components of the self-driving technology. In addition, rising demand for advanced safety features such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking system coupled with increased government regulations to reduce road accidents, the major automotive OEMs are providing ADAS features into their next-generation vehicles. ADAS technologies have significantly reduced the complexity of driving, with features such as lane monitoring, emergency braking, stability controls, and others, which are primarily software-driven. Therefore, owing to adoption of ADAS features into next generation vehicles, many Tier 1 companies and OEMs are establishing partnerships with software development vendors for the development of advanced ADAS software. This in turn is boosting the growth of the automotive software market. For instance, in January 2020, lighting and electronics major Hella and the U.S. start-up Oculii collaborated to develop high-performance software for ADAS and autonomous vehicles (AVs).

Increasing adoption of connected car services

Connectivity has become a common feature for nearly every electronic device including automobiles. These services allow automotive dealers, fleet operators, and drivers to optimize resource usage, improve safety, and automate certain driver functions, while generating valuable data including vehicle performance and road conditions. The connected car services can be provided in a vehicle using embedded, integrated, cloud or tethered connectivity solutions. 

Many connected car services require software to perform their respective functions. This software provides assistance with configuring, managing, and monitoring internet of things (IoT) devices used in vehicles. In addition, the increase in the demand for connected car services is majorly due to the surge in concerns for safety & security, rise in the demand for an enhanced driving experience, and introduction of internet of things (IoT) in the automotive industry. Thus, owing to meeting the increasing demands, tier 1 manufactures are heavily investing to adopt these services into advanced vehicles. Therefore, increasing number of advanced services provided in connected cars is attributing to the growth of automotive software for connected services. For instance, in November 2018, AB Volvo partnered with Ericsson, a networking and telecommunications company, to provide Volvo customers with more connected digital services such as infotainment, navigation, automation, telematics and fleet management. Under the partnership, Volvo will be able to offer digital connected vehicle services in more than 120 markets worldwide. 

Lack of connected infrastructure

Technology has changed the face of the modern automotive industry. With the rise of cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT), vehicles are now relying more on software-controlled connected devices for the proper and more secure functioning of the vehicles. However, the absence of a strong IoT and network infrastructure such as Wi-Fi, cloud and cellular technologies, are creating complexities in real-time control of the software, which can restrain the growth of the automotive software market. 

In addition, as automotive systems become more dependent on environmental and situational data being sent to and from the car to support the whole range of inbuilt automated safety features, there will be a need for increasing intelligence infrastructure. Therefore, lack of connected infrastructure such as intelligent systems and other technologies, hinders the growth of the automotive software market.
Growing developments in semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles

Semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles are largely dependent on software, and the increasing effort to deploy autonomous driving features is positively impacting the automotive software market growth. Several vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Volvo, Ford and others, are integrating Level 1 and Level 2 autonomous technology in their vehicles; some models with Level 3 autonomy were also launched in 2019. 

Furthermore, many leading automotive OEM companies are engaged in R&D and testing activities for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles, in different cities around the world. For instance, in 2017, Germany became the first country across the world to legalize the use of level 4 and 5 autonomous driving systems. In addition, some cities have also approved the operation of pilot fleets on private properties that offer suitable normal road traffic conditions. Therefore, such growing developments in semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles are expected to offer opportunities for the growth of the automotive software market. For instance, microchip maker NVidia and car manufacturer Mercedes are planning to roll out software-defined autonomous vehicles by 2024. 

Covid Impact Analysis

• The automotive industry is facing a sharp drop in demand and investment.
• Automotive OEMs and many mobility players have recorded some of the hardest hit in the automotive industry due to COVID-19.
• This could lead to a direct long-term impact on the automotive industry too due to the macroeconomic trends, changing consumer behavior and regulatory developments.
• Industry participants might see short-term disruption to autonomous vehicles (AV) development and roll-outs which may create new opportunities for adoption of autonomous vehicles (AV) technology. 

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study presents the analytical depiction of the global automotive software market analysis along with the current trends and future estimations to depict imminent investment pockets.
• The overall automotive software market opportunity is determined by understanding profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global automotive software market with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current automotive software market is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2027 to benchmark the financial competency.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.

 Automotive Software Market Report Highlights