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As the automotive industry pushes toward software-defined vehicles, automakers and suppliers are shifting their relationships and working dynamics.
Suppliers formerly owned the vehicle's hardware and software. Now, to varying degrees, many automakers have brought software development in-house, leaving traditional suppliers to redefine their value and make choices about what to offer automakers.
"The majority of automakers are doing some level of insourcing to say, 'The intellectual property that has lived with you as the supplier all along — actually we need that to live with us to maintain future competitiveness,' " said Alex Oyler, director of SBD Automotive, North America. "We need to be able to invest and iterate on that intellectual property faster than you can as a supplier."
The repositioning has opened up new potential revenue streams and business models for suppliers.
As Automotive News celebrates its 100-year anniversary, we are taking a look at today's topics through both a historic and future lens.
Software revenue is increasingly important to Robert Bosch, which ranks No. 1 on Automotive News' annual list of the world's largest suppliers. And the same trend is showing up in the chip producers that make the semiconductors that enable software. Qualcomm's gains with automakers landed it on Automotive News rankings at No. 80. It sold $2.9 billion to automakers in 2024, up 55 percent from 2023.