Automotive IT News and Facts
HANOVER — One thing was clear at the 2012 automotiveDAY conference: IT is quickly becoming one of the major differentiators in the competition between the world’s car brands. Until recently, IT was mostly seen as way to reduce costs and boost efficiency. But in addresses to the conference, IT directors outlined how the services they [...]
HANOVER — Local Motors (LM) has set out to prove that, contrary to the common wisdom in the auto industry, scale is not a necessary requirement for becoming a successful carmaker. The Arizona-based upstart, which has already built one production car, is trying out an unconventional approach to car building. It is attempting to build [...]
HANOVER — Automakers and suppliers reported major progress in creating common IT standards to be used in product lifecycle management (PLM). “We now have a common understanding with regard to the issue of openness in PLM systems and now have measurable criteria for that openness,” said Steven Vetterman, who heads ProSTEP iViP, a global association [...]
HANOVER –Daimler has decided to adopt a dual approach to mobile end-user devices in recognition of the diversity of its employees. The German premium car group expects that so-called user-owned devices will increasingly be used for business purposes. Hence, it will allow these devices to carry a limited amount of company data and will give [...]
New BMWs in Germany will be equipped with specially adapted Vodafone SIM cards from this summer as the German premium carmaker pursues its ConnectedDrive strategy. Under a five-year agreement between BMW and Vodafone Germany, new cars will be fitted with the SIM cards at the assembly plant. The cards use machine-to-machine technology that allows different [...]
General Motors and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen on Wednesday said they are forming a global alliance that will let the two carmakers share platforms, create a purchasing joint venture and potentially save billions of dollars in annual operating costs. As part of the agreement, GM will take a 7 pc stake in PSA, which will raise an additional [...]
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is extending Dassault Systemes’ Delmia software to its powertrain manufacturing operations. The move means that the French carmaker now uses the same Delmia tools and methodologies for assembly simulation, painting, factory layout, stamping and powertrain. Dassault, one of a handful of global suppliers of simulation and product lifecycle management software, said Delmia will allow [...]
Volkswagen Group has chosen SAP to reorganize its customer relationship managenemt software, industry insiders say. SAP, the world’s largest maker of business software, will provide CRM software for all passenger car brands belonging to the VW Group. Rollout will start in Germany in coming months and other countries, including Spain and Italy, will get the [...]
The US administration is stepping up the pressure on carmakers to make in-vehicle electronic devices less distracting to drivers. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Thursday issued a series of proposed voluntary guidelines for in-car communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation devices. The guidelines, which were issued by the department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [...]
This year’s CeBIT high-tech fair will pay special attention to the growing importance of IT to the auto industry. The annual event, the world’s biggest IT fair, will include a special automotive focus under the “Digital Drive” banner. Various automakers, suppliers and service providers will provide solutions that are increasingly finding their way into the [...]
