With the frequent updates of car owners, car companies have gradually shifted their energy to the constant new products throughout the life cycle of cars, in addition to rolling up hardware and fighting prices. In the second half of the year, the OTA circle of car companies is becoming more and more lively. With new forces and new strengths representing the new generation of car companies, OTA operations have gradually entered a period of high-quality development.
The so-called high quality is mainly reflected in the higher value, greater differentiation, and more optimized experience driving functions and high-frequency upgrade activities pushed by car companies through OTA upgrades, which is different from the limited range of upgrades in the early stage, weak function awareness, and low upgrade efficiency. Compared with other OTA performance, there has been a big qualitative change, which is mainly due to the rapid evolution of OTA platform capabilities and the successive implementation of technology research and development in various fields.
Looking back at the development of automobile OTA, which has experienced several periods of germination, growth, and bursting, from SOTA and vehicle OTA to the enterprise-level OTA stage, it has completed its own growth and evolution at an astonishing speed. At this stage, the emphasis is on software management based on the entire life cycle of automobiles. Capabilities have become a key link in the integration of software and hardware in smart cars, and they have also become the starting point for practicing user thinking. Data shows that in terms of OTA upgrade implementation, as of the end of July 2023, 57 auto brands (including self-owned, new forces, and joint ventures) have carried out about 696 OTA upgrades. It is not difficult to find that due to frequent and large-scale OTA upgrade activities, car companies have developed a more overall management awareness in the current OTA activities, and OTA service providers are also helping OEMs to establish a more complete operation management mechanism and software management platform. .
Based on SOA, Arabi XOTA realizes a one-stop user-experience-driven upgrade ecosystem for diversified scenarios such as FOTA, SOTA, DOTA, MOTA, and ROTA based on SOA, while the newly launched VSP is based on R156 regulations and The ISO24089 standard provides software baseline, software and hardware compatibility, software release, and vehicle upgrade software management that provides traceable files throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Only a strong foundation can drive the painting. New technologies pouring in from fields such as intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, power chassis, and intelligent interconnection are pouring in through OTA.
Frequent upgrades lead to a new situation of normalized competition
As more and more car companies join the OTA competition, the increase in upgrade frequency has become one of the important means to distinguish brands, and it has also become the new normal for car companies to compete. According to statistics, the update frequency this year is significantly higher than last year. From January to July this year, the number of brands approaching "monthly update" has increased to 4, and nearly 50% of independent brands have reached "bi-monthly update". New power brands have appeared many times Several updates were made to different models within a month.
The increase in frequency is not an aimless behavior, but stems from changes in the market and user needs. Car companies strengthen the collection of user needs through offline user exchange meetings and user co-creation. In the latest smart OS 1.1.10 CN OTA event, smart added 11 new functions and 7 experience optimizations. The degree of discussion is relatively high. In order to thank the riders for their positive feedback, smart even put the user name on the public screen of the car to express their gratitude.
This kind of normal competition has prompted car companies to continuously adjust and improve their OTA strategies, including optimization of the upgrade process, shortening of the upgrade time, and improvement of user experience, etc., to ensure that every update can be conveyed smoothly and efficiently. Every vehicle. As of the first half of the year, the OTA upgrade method of domestic self-owned brands has basically eliminated the U disk download and installation method, and compared with advanced brands, it has realized non-sensory download + car terminal/mobile terminal reservation upgrade, and the operation convenience has been greatly improved. NIO has made a breakthrough on the basis of differential upgrade, and the technology realizes SOTA upgrade alone, and the upgrade time is significantly shortened.
The development of high-quality OTA is not achieved overnight, but a process of continuous optimization, and in this process of continuous optimization, the goal of sustainable development is gradually revealed. The new generation of smart cars is not only to meet the current needs, but also to meet the challenges of the future.
Functional boundaries continue to expand, and "firsts" occur frequently
In the development of high-quality OTAs, the core value of upgrades has become increasingly prominent, and new functions, new experiences, and new gameplays have become the OTA content that users are most looking forward to. For two consecutive months, Tesla has focused on minor system optimization or repairs as the main upgrade content, which has caused strong dissatisfaction among car owners. Therefore, car companies are redefining the meaning of upgrades with a broader vision and launching disruptive functions. Upgrading not only means updating the system, but also brings brand-new driving experience and functions to car owners. Whoever updates and who is more differentiated can take the lead in this arms race.
The focus of OTA in recent months is undoubtedly the NOA function of smart driving. The high-speed NOA and urban NOA of various car companies have finally ushered in the highlight moment of implementation after the technology accumulation of the past two years. The brokerage research report pointed out that in 2023 or "the first year of urban NOA", the total number of vehicles equipped with urban assisted driving NOA this year may be 700,000. 70% in 2025.
At the moment when NOA is rapidly spreading its branches and leaves, Xiaopeng, the "hands-on" domestic autopilot, ushered in the public beta of the whole region in Beijing, reaching the level of L4 assisted driving. Tesla opened FSD in China this month. "Shadow Mode" calmed down the user dissatisfaction caused by the previous few insincere OTAs. And the brand-new brand represented by Zhiji has also achieved a strong explosion in just two years. Based on breakthroughs in cutting-edge intelligent driving technologies such as BEV+Transformer, Occupancy Network, NOA, and commuting mode, Zhiji Auto has launched a completely data-driven DDOD , DDLD, and DLP three major technical solutions: go to the high-precision map NOA to be tested in September, and we will be chasing after it. The advancement of autonomous driving technology has gradually made urban NOA a reality, which not only improves driving convenience, but also gives car companies a differentiated competitive advantage
The cockpit is the most direct area for car owners to perceive. The ecological integration of the car and machine has opened up the richness of the car and machine. For the first time, many mainstream apps for entertainment, childcare, learning, and tools have been uploaded to the car through OTA, and cross-application integration has been realized. Maps are embedded in Douyin and other life apps; The intelligent level of voice function has been improved, etc. At the same time, in terms of smart interconnection, the car terminal and more mobile phone brand markets have barrier-free interconnection, and more first-ever interconnection applets such as NFC car control greatly facilitate the car experience.
The power chassis field ushered in the first suspension upgrade this month. Li Auto upgraded the air suspension of its L series models to 2.0 for free. A single experience is upgraded to a personalized selection of 18 modes. After Tesla released an OTA update in July, the vehicle can be charged with solar energy.
OTA upgrades in various fields of smart cars allow car owners and car companies to interpret a new story together. And an excellent OTA platform has become a strong support for this wonderful journey. Its technical advantages such as security, scalability, and user experience provide a fertile ground for powerful software to settle in. This mutual promotion and mutual complementation promotes the automobile. The industry is moving towards a smarter, more innovative and better future.
Whether it is in the normal state of upgrading or in the new state of functional innovation, the development of automotive OTA technology will help the automotive industry to bring more miracles and unknowns.