22 AFTERMARKET MAY 2023 TECHNICAL/AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE www.aftermarketonline.net Reuters webinar on software-defined vehicles In case you didn’t catch it, I recently moderated a fantastic discussion on “The Evolution of Automotive Technology” for Reuters Events, in my role as editor of Cars of the Future. The high-profile three-man panel consisted of Dr Mario De Felice, Head of Software Architecture at Jaguar Land Rover, Nico Kersten, CEO of Mercedes Pay, and Plato Pathrose, CTO of Vinfast. They discussed the Accenture report predicting that revenues from digitally-enabled services will rise tenfold by 2040 (to US$3.5 trillion), and the letter by the European Association of Automotive Suppliers to the President of the European Commission calling for sectorspecific regulation on the use and sharing of in-vehicle data. On changing vehicle design, De Felice said: “At JLR we've integrated Alexa so that the user seamlessly moves from one ecosystem to the other – more complex software architecture enables all of those features. That revolution is incredible.” On the challenges and opportunities of being an emerging VM, Pathrose said: “The major advantages we have are flexibility and adaptability. We have to deliver products that are stable and trustworthy, and show we are capable of providing better technologies.” www.aftermarketonline.net On Tuesday 28 February, in the Banqueting Suite at one of London’s most iconic buildings, Tom Allebone-Webb, Head of Strategy & Innovation at Lloyd's of London, introduced a packed audience of insurance professionals to Professor Paul Newman, Founder and CTO of Oxbotica. The official title of the event was ‘The Future of Autonomy’ and the blurb promised an opportunity to “get up close with a zero occupancy all-electric self-driving vehicle which will revolutionise the goods and delivery market”, but there was much more to it than that. The previous afternoon we spoke to Sam Tiltman, Sharing Economy and Mobility Leader at Marsh, who described it as a call to action for a technological leap akin to the development of the internet. “If autonomous vehicles deliver on their promise, they will significantly reduce risk, so if we don’t invest in this, then we, as an industry, will be disrupted,” he said. If any attendees were labouring under the impression that this is still the stuff of science fiction, the car parked outside the grand main entrance must have piqued their interest. It was our first time seeing the record-breaking Applied EV for ourselves, and passers-by were clearly struck by what it doesn’t have – doors, windows, seats or a steering wheel. Oxbotica at Lloyd's of London: Why insurance and self-driving are inextricably entwined Neil Kennett looks at cutting-edge auto tech coming to a workshop near you soon AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE A commentator on the UK aftermarket since before Concorde was grounded, Neil is Editor of Carsofthefuture.co.uk, providing news and views about driverless vehicles, and Director of Communications at Selfdrivingpr.com, experts in automotive/autonomous media and public relations
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