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SBD Automotive
Research Reports
Our off-the shelf research report library gives you fast access to the latest industry data and insights
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This study focuses on future-casting SDV hardware roadmaps and planning E/E architecture transformation, alongside the decoupling of hardware and software, to help plan an OEM’s next set of SDV milestones. Here, it helps address ambiguity around the role of the SDV across different segments and regions, and what problems must be overcome to scale the SDV. This will include decisions on considering a zonal architecture and aim to answer whether this is a key decision factor in scaling the SDV.
Our Premium Event Report Series takes an analytical deep dive into three global events that deliver major implications for the automotive industry. While differentiating between announcements that represent concepts and production commitments, a Pre-Show report for each event tracks its most important pre-announcements and what to expect on the show floor. It also identifies which start-ups exhibiting at the event have automotive and mobility potential, alongside the most relevant announcements from larger OEMs, suppliers, and other players.
Welcome to the 2025 HMI benchmarking report series, where SBD’s user experience experts carry out thorough UX evaluations of the features and technologies offered in the latest vehicle releases.
The first edition of the 2025 series sees the UX team test the all-new Volvo EX90. While noting the benefits of Volvo’s updated Google Built-In infotainment system, and the implementation of its various ADAS, our experts noticed a number of stability issues that hindered the EV’s overall user experience.
The EV Incentives Tracker provides in-depth analysis of the incentives that are presently impacting electrification across the automotive industry. In doing so, it helps OEMs and dealerships understand the incentives being offered for EVs today, and the developing trends around incentives that are impacting customer buying decisions in different regions. This report is released quarterly to provide the latest updates on existing and emerging incentives, and offers an accompanying Excel version with deep, data-driven, analysis.
This all-new report represents one of two studies within the Cockpit & Infotainment domain focused on the overall app ecosystem for automotive OEMs. Here, it works alongside our Automotive Smartphone App Guide to provide a full picture of the automotive landscape. It provides deep insights into the latest trends and activities from OEMs and third-party players in their respective regions, and is updated bi-annually to account for new app launches and the latest movements across this ecosystem.
SBD Automotive’s all-new In-Car VPA & Voice Guide details the latest virtual personal assistants (VPAs) being launched, while highlighting the range of VPA-adjacent features being delivered through OTA updates that expand on the role of voice in the car. This study will help OEMs prioritize a set of VPA and voice features that will be the most effective for their customers, and more broadly plan a roadmap for the overarching role that voice AI can play in their vehicles.
Representing one entry in a new two-part report series, this report takes a further UX deep dive into the companion apps offered alongside the models reviewed in our 635 Vehicle Evaluation Series. Here, it highlights the experiences offered on smartphones while detailing how the apps interact with connected vehicle features. New for 2024, the series will more broadly offer insight into the implementation, differentiation, and key USPs of contemporary companion apps as well as the latest hands-off driving systems.
Representing one entry in a new two-part report series, this report takes a further UX deep dive into the hands-off driving systems featured in the models reviewed across our 635 Vehicle Evaluation Series. Here, our experts evaluate each model’s system experience, including their implementation of warnings and how they monitor the driver’s level of attentiveness. The series will more broadly offer insight into the implementation, differentiation, and key USPs of these ADAS as well as the latest automotive companion apps.
Welcome to the End-of-Year Summary edition of our 2024 HMI benchmarking reports series.
In this edition, our experts conclude the 2024 series with a broader analysis and comparison between the nine vehicles tested throughout the year. While mapping out their HMI commonalities, and their performance in domains such as navigation and voice recognition, the report also assesses the functionality of each model against 13 UX laws. A concise car-by-car summary similarly offers a mix of deep analysis and top-level takeaways.
In 2024, the series covered the BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Xiaomi SU7, Lincoln Nautilus, Kona Electric, Acura ZDX, Audi Q6 e-tron, Avatr 12, and Mini Electric Countryman.
Thorough insights into the growing eco-system of dedicated telematics services for the LCV segment.
In the passenger vehicle segment, the use of connected car services is widespread - with many OEMs providing their services to at least one market. Today, an extensive ecosystem of connected services for this segment mutually provides a wealth of benefits for its consumers and service providers. However, the connected services market for the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment is still in the early stages of maturity.
CES is a technology-focused trade show held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada where manufacturers, suppliers, and developers showcase their latest innovations at conferences and booths. The show has a global reach with over 115,000 attendees and 3,200 exhibitors from 140 countries.
Technologies shown at CES are generally focused on the consumer electronics sector, however in recent years the automotive sector has had an increasing presence. Automotive technologies are now a major part of the show with many key players using it to unveil their latest announcements.
This report provides a 2040 snapshot of the technology convergences expected to occur between safety, EV, connectivity, security, and cyber that will power future vehicle generations. In doing so, it provides a comprehensive index, categorised by OEM, for the adoption of these technologies that highlights the customer-facing outcomes they will achieve. The report similarly empowers planning and CX teams with the insights they need to develop a gap assessment in advanced planning and R&D roadmaps for next-generation vehicle platforms.
AutoRoadmaps is a powerful tool to enable confident, clear and fast responses to competitive questions in an increasingly complex and fast-changing market. Curated from tens of thousands of trusted and validated sources, AutoRoadmaps provides distilled intelligence data validated by human expert analysis in a normalized & actionable way, allowing you to save time, optimize products, uncover gaps and align teams to create market confidence.
This study aims to provide OEMs with a framework on how to evaluate the impact of emerging trends that could affect the future of vehicle ownership, alongside their sub-trends, like city bans on ICEs, Gen Z buying trends, and the experiential priorities of customers. Here, it takes a deep dive into both the threats and opportunities to vehicle ownership beyond OEM horizons while breaking down contemporary consumer habits through detailed persona analysis that profiles various buying groups and highlights disruptions.
In this study, our SDV experts examine the ever-evolving ecosystem of automotive operating systems. Designed with the SDV in mind, this report maps the commercial models being deployed across the vehicle OS markets, while highlighting their benefits to OEM business and challenges to adoption. Here, it allows planning teams to evaluate the maturity of open-source OSes for in-vehicle use, and understand OEM preferences on OS sourcing in terms of in-house development and supplier contracts.
Representing one entry in a two-part report series, this report takes a further UX deep dive into the EV navigation systems provided alongside the models reviewed in our In-Car HMI UX Evaluation & Benchmarking series. Here, it highlights the best user experiences offered by these systems and understands how they interact with the EV’s connected features. The series will more broadly offer insight into EV charging services, and the ways in which they interact with the EV’s connected features.
Representing one entry in a two-part report series, this report takes a UX deep dive into EV charging services using the models reviewed in our In-Car HMI UX Evaluation & Benchmarking series. Here, it highlights the best user experiences offered by these services today and understands how they interact with the EV’s connected features. The series will more broadly offer insight into EV navigation systems and the way in which these systems interact with the EV’s connected features.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series, where SBD’s user experience experts carry out thorough UX evaluations of the features and technologies offered in the latest vehicle releases.
In this edition, our experts test the all-new Mini Electric Countryman. The circular OLED central display is particularly impressive, along with all the fun touches such as the ‘key’ switch to ‘start’ the car, Spike the British bulldog avatar and the contemporary design and micro-animations throughout the system. The most significant reason for the MINI’s low score, however, is its extremely poor stability: 11 bugs, four of which are considered critical, including a full system crash.
This report offers insight into the automotive use cases for generative AI while mapping out how it will impact the industry. Here, it understands the functional application levels that will be impacted in the next five years and highlights case studies in upstream applications and functional verticals. The report also accounts for generative AI’s short, mid-, and long-term automotive use cases, provides a list of potential partners, and identifies the different approaches being taken towards the technology by players today.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series, where SBD’s user experience experts carry out thorough UX evaluations of the features and technologies offered in the latest vehicle releases.
In this edition, our experts test the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron. The team praised the EV’s interior and exterior lighting systems – both of which enhanced the usability of features in domains like safety and personalization. These advancements were, however, held back by some poorly implemented elements within the Q6 e-tron’s navigation system that our experts felt could lead some users to resort to using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The EV Apps & Digital Consumer Experience Guide provides a detailed breakdown of how automakers are offering EV apps and a digital consumer experience through five key steps. While offering insight into how digital tools and services can be leveraged to drive EV adoption, the report also identifies the best practices for digitizing key components of the EV user journey and understands how the remote and in-cabin vehicle experiences work together to deliver information and support new EV-related digital experiences.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series, where SBD’s user experience experts carry out thorough UX evaluations of the features and technologies offered in the latest vehicle releases.
In this edition, our experts test the Avatr 12 – the latest EV from Avatr Technology, a joint venture between Changan, CATL, and Huawei. While our experts enjoyed the entertainment capabilities and IoT integrations offered by the automotive variant of Huawei’s HarmonyOS, they felt that its lack of third-party support could limit its usability for some users. Beyond infotainment, the EV offers a impressive set of features that individually enable unique and seamless user experiences.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD user experience experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the infotainment, navigation, and ADAS & autonomy domains.
In this edition, our UX experts test the 2024 Acura ZDX, the Honda brand’s first battery-electric vehicle. It is also the first vehicle by Acura to feature Google built-in, which provides native versions of Google Assistant, Google Maps, and the Google Play store. These apps and more are hosted across the EV’s two interior screens - an 11-inch Precision Cockpit Driver Information Cluster, and an 11.3–inch Center Information Screen.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD user experience experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the infotainment, navigation, and ADAS & autonomy domains.
In this edition, our UX experts test the battery-electric variant of the 2024 Hyundai Kona. Inside, the SUV offers an available next-generation infotainment system with dual 12.3-inch panoramic display screens that are integrated into the audio-video navigation system for a widescreen digital experience.
The Automotive Sustainability Guide maps out the landscape of sustainability-centric technologies being adopted by OEMs and value chain players today while offering expert insight on sustainable sourcing strategies for materials and components beyond the battery. This landscape is illustrated further through a series of corporate-level case studies and best practices around OEM sustainability initiatives. Looking beyond the vehicle, the report also highlights OEM approaches towards sustainability processes such as carbon capture, carbon offsetting, energy utilization, and major manufacturing.
The latest entry in our dedicated series of Event Flash Reports compiles the most important takeaways from this year’s Paris Motor Show, punctuating its top trends with takeaways and analysis from our industry experts. While highlighting the innovations showcased by the hundreds of OEMs present on the show floor, our experts also break down the insights and knowledge shared by key automotive CEOs at the event’s CEO Keynote Speeches.
Automotive Roadmaps Tracker is a powerful tool to enable confident, clear and fast responses to competitive questions in an increasingly complex and fast-changing market. Curated from tens of thousands of trusted and validated sources, AutoRoadmaps provides distilled intelligence data validated by human expert analysis in a normalized & actionable way, allowing you to save time, optimize products, uncover gaps and align teams to create market confidence.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD user experience experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the infotainment, navigation, and ADAS & autonomy domains.
In this edition, our UX experts test the Lincoln Nautilus - which benefits from the level of ADAS offered with BlueCruise, it’s SAE L2+ piloted driving feature, as well as it’s navigation live data and on demand music feature offerings.
The Software-Defined Vehicle: E/E Architecture Guide evaluates today's state of the art architectures while supporting planners and engineers on the journey to enable a software-defined vehicle (SDV). It provides insight into key SDV trends and technologies as well as the decisions enabling year-on-year delivery with optimal utility and cost to each vehicle made. An accompanying Excel version offers the latest data to encourage strong decision-making, with thousands of data points presented with every release.
The Software-Defined Vehicle Forecast provides a grounded assessment of the growth enabling SDV technologies in different regions and vehicle segments. Its ten-year forecast understands how major OEM groups will deploy future E/E architecture elements, while assessing how these elements are expected to evolve. An adjacent Excel version offers detailed, data-driven, analysis sorted by brand and country in addition to revenues.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD user experience experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the infotainment, navigation, and ADAS & autonomy domains.
In this edition, our UX experts test the Xiaomi SU7 - which offers a rich variety of features and functionality with music listening options and entertainment & information features being particularly impressive and contributing to the high score.
EV Battery Technologies & Ecosystem profiles the key players and technologies involved in the EV battery ecosystem, while highlighting the factors encouraging innovation across the battery lifecycle. Offering accessible explanations of today's critical battery technologies, the report provides insight into the potential battery industry conditions of the future. It also addresses the recent trend of battery recycling and reuse – understanding its key initiatives and supporting technologies.
Extensive analysis into the key players and business models of the EV charging landscape.
Following a series of commitments from OEMs to phase out their ICE vehicles in favor of electric vehicles, and with governments providing a variety of incentives for EV buyers, adoption rates and sales are growing rapidly. With more consumers, fleets, and service operators switching to EVs, there comes a renewed interest in the build-up of EV charging networks.
An analytical deep dive into the methods and tools used to steal vehicles globally.
A growing number of intelligent systems and technologies are being installed as standard in new vehicles today, with even more in development and set for installation in the near future. While the most commonly marketed innovations by OEMs stem from the vehicle's HMI and infotainment systems, this innovation extends to safety and security. These features are now present across multiple vehicle segments and most notably include keyless entry - through which the user's smartphone or key fob used to unlock the vehicle.
An assessment of the latest activity around OTA, its key features, and core technologies.
An ecosystem of new players in the automotive industry are putting Over-The-Air (OTA) and Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) updates at the center of their vehicle development and lifecycle strategies. Unlike traditional OTA updates, FOTA updates directly add to, or enhance, the hardware functionalities of the vehicle. Today, OEMs such as Tesla are offering vehicles that provide regular updates which unlock software features and firmware functions initially installed in production.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD usability experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the Connected Car and ADAS & autonomy domains.
In this edition, our UX experts test the Mercedes-Benz E-Class - which delivers a new 'Zero-layer' theme for the UI, and offers a significant range of native and downloadable features and apps spanning various domains.
A comprehensive guide to the cyber security legislation, best practice guidelines and technical standards that impact on in-car and off-board systems.
The Automotive Cyber Security Legislation Guide identifies the threats and opportunities generated by government mandates, guidelines and standards within Europe, USA, China and Japan. Information is also provided on relevant legislation from other countries around the world on an ad-hoc basis when an important development emerges.
The EV Legislation & Incentives Guide provides in-depth analysis of how and where legislation is impacting electrification in the automotive industry. It aims to help OEMs and lawmakers understand the regulations and incentives surrounding EVs today, as well as the legislation being worked towards by governments in different regions. The guide is released quarterly to provide the latest updates and offers an accompanying Excel version featuring deep, data-driven, analysis.
Analyzing the threats, implications, and opportunities posed by the legal landscape for autonomous technologies.
The footprint of vehicle autonomy within the automotive industry has grown to the point where an increasing number of legacy automakers and new players are developing, trialing, or implementing new ADAS and autonomous driving systems. At the same time, the global ecosystem for these technologies is developing at varying rates based on their maturity while OEMs work to raise consumer awareness and gain their trust.
A report assessing the impact of active and developing legislation on connected services globally.
The connected car eco-system is evolving at a rapid pace. Within it, legacy OEMs and suppliers are constantly investigating how best to enhance their offerings and satisfy ever-changing consumer demands. At the same time, new players - including start-ups and consumer technology firms - are emerging with the intent to embed connectivity across the development, production, and user experience of their vehicles.
Welcome to the 2024 HMI benchmarking report series. Evaluations are carried out by SBD usability experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains such as the Connected Car and ADAS & autonomy domains.
The 2024 BMW X1 is the first BMW model launched with the new iDrive 9 operating system (OS). The new iDrive 9 system is based on Android OS, which is the same for BMW’s previous models with the iDrive 8.5 system. However, SBD found some surprising issues during the evaluation that weren’t major issues with previous BMW’s models in the past.
Today, OEMs around the world are equipping their vehicles with more ADAS and autonomous functions as well as more intelligent infotainment solutions. These innovations largely work to enhance the overall user experience and are often featured in the cockpit - which is now being referred to by some OEMs as a third living space as they integrate a wider variety of experiences into the vehicle.
Comprehensive insights into the strategies, key players, and business models of connected services worldwide.
In recent years, the uptake of service-based applications and solutions by the automotive industry has impacted the ways in which customers interact with their vehicles. Consumers today can benefit from services spread across the ownership cycle - from the purchase or leasing of the vehicle, through to its maintenance and repair.
A comprehensive bi-annual guide to the latest digital key offerings from three major regions.
The increased presence of software-based features and systems inside the vehicle has led to a rise in the number of experiences hosted on a smartphone. The most notable of these is the digital key, which sees the user’s smartphone leveraged to unlock/lock and start the vehicle. Today, it is widely seen as a premium feature – with select luxury OEMs offering it as standard and other mass market automakers providing it as an optional feature in premium packages or higher trim models.
In this report, our experts break down the various opportunities and challenges of bi-directional charging, including vehicle enablement and its integration with Home Energy Management Systems (HEMs). It also understands how bi-directional charging will support the development of virtual power plants while inspiring new collaborations between automakers, energy management providers, and key infrastructure players overall. Further insight into the potential of bi-directional charging is provided through a deep dive into EV bi-directional pilots and the latest commercial announcements.
This report takes a strategic look into how OEMs are tackling critical software development challenges for the SDV. It understands how organizational and technical strategies can mutually optimize vehicle software development, while identifying the capabilities of toolsets used today and the non-automotive software development trends that will impact the automotive value chain. The report further identifies how automakers and their partners are leveraging the cloud, digital twin and DevOps tool kits to further accelerate SDV software development and ensure success.
In this edition of the In-Car HMI UX Evaluation and Benchmarking series, the UX team is testing the MG4 EV.
Overall, the MG4 provides a solid and reliable system that meets user expectation for the most part. While the MG4 is a solid attempt from a Chinese developed system deploying in the European market, it suffers from numerous shortcomings in each domain, leaving opportunities for improvement.
SBD Automotive’s The Localization & Map-based ADAS report outlines the key technologies already being used by OEMs, alongside the various use cases they enable. In addition to analyzing the ecosystem for these technologies today, the report also looks ahead, offering a five and ten-year outlook for the adoption of map and localization systems for ADAS. Reflecting the broad scope of these solutions are illustrations of how they are implemented in a variety of use cases to address OEM challenges and innovation goals.
SBD Automotive’s Securing the Software-Defined Vehicle report takes a detailed, chip-to-cloud, look at SDVs. In doing so, it provides a high-level threat model of a typical SDV architecture - identifying the best practices for responding to malicious cyber security attacks at each layer of the technology stack. For IT and security teams supporting the development of new SDVs, the report maps out the key cyber security differences between traditional and SDV architectures.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Fisker Ocean.
The Fisker Ocean returns a disappointing user experience score, finishing lowest among all vehicles tested
in 2023 so far and only achieves a B- for functionality, finishing equal to the second lowest vehicle tested in
2023. This scoring is based on the current offering at the time of testing (August 2023).
Following SBD’s 2021 Health & Wellbeing in Automotive report, this all-new 2024 edition provides a full quantitative consumer survey update on their preferences around, and propensity to purchase, automotive health and wellbeing technologies.
While profiling the main technologies and types of systems available on the market today, the 2024 edition offers an updated roadmap that highlights the level of maturity and expected deployment of health and wellbeing solutions overall.
The Fleet Management Solutions: Automotive & LCV Value Chains report identifies the key opportunities and challenges for OEMs wishing to participate in the FMS value chain. It provides a clear understanding of the strategies needed to incorporate FMS and their associated services, while outlining the products, services, and business models being pursued by stakeholders. Planning, marketing, and IT teams benefit further from detailed analysis of key fleet management service strategies organized by OEM.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Peugeot 408 GT.
The Peugeot 408 returns a strong score for user experience, finishing middle of the pack compared to 2022 and 2023 vehicles, but achieves a disappointing score of C+ for functionality finishing equal to the lowest ranked vehicle for functionality in 2022 and lowest overall in 2023.
In this Software-Defined Vehicle report, SBD Automotive's experts map out the strategies used to incorporate Software-Defined Vehicles into new vehicle line-ups. Here, it understands how key industry players are organizing themselves as they prepare for SDV development, while identifying the products, services, and business models being pursued by stakeholders today. It likewise highlights the challenges and constraints of SDV development from an organizational perspective.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the BYD Seal.
Overall, the system achieves a strong score in UX and a reasonable score for functionality. It manages to impress in terms of voice recognition and extensive app offerings, but is prevented from scoring higher by missing functionality and poor integration of some features.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Nissan Ariya.
Overall, many features are delivered to an acceptable standard, with an impressive interior appearance and ADAS feature offering. However, poor presentation of some visual details throughout the HMI, an underwhelming feature set and struggling voice recognition system stand in the way of a higher overall score.
SBD's Optimizing the EV User Journey report sees our experts highlight the best practices automakers have implemented to support new and prospective EV customers. While recommending solutions that offer mutual benefits for the OEM and consumer alike, it further outlines how automakers can leverage partnerships to strengthen customer journeys. The report likewise profiles the most valuable in-vehicle and in-app features for EV drivers around the world.
SBD’s Digital Cockpit & Infotainment Forecast provides an outlook on the penetration of cockpit elements and key cockpit features, showing their fitment rate by market ten years into the future. Throughout the report, OEMs can benefit from deep analysis broken down by region, connectivity, and service type, as well as a defined methodology that utilizes top-down and bottom-up approaches.
A thorough examination of the key strategies, partnerships, regulations, and technologies surrounding autonomous vehicles.
The shift towards vehicle autonomy is already impacting the automotive industry and will continue to do so as it arrives. Today, the eco-system is evolving rapidly as a number of OEMs announce new initiatives while investing in, or acquiring, suppliers of autonomous technologies and systems. Similarly emerging from the eco-system are a growing number of industry partnerships and new start-ups dedicated to the development of these systems – from specialized system-on-a-chip units to full sensor suites.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
Overall, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer impresses with its comprehensive feature offerings including a highly connected navigation system, entertainment and information features and numerous delight features meaning it scores highly for SBD functionality score. However, the system is pulled down in terms of user experience score due to a high number of critical or major bugs experienced during testing and concerns
regarding overall legibility.
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