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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 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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SBD Automotive’s Localization & Map-based ADAS report outlines the localization technologies being embraced by OEMs and the use cases they enable. While analyzing the ecosystem for these technologies today, the report also looks ahead – offering a five-year forecast for the adoption of new ADAS and localization systems. Reflecting the global scope of these solutions is a section which compares how they are implemented in different regions to address local challenges and technical requirements.
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.
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.
A report assessing the opportunities and challenges faced by Chinese OEMs looking to expand.
China’s automotive industry is expanding at an increasingly rapid pace. Domestic OEMs who have built a strong foothold in major markets such as Europe and the U.S are looking to break ground in new markets like India and Africa. At the same time, newer players are hoping to establish, or expand, their presence in the West.
When it rolls out, the automotive landscape will be greatly impacted by level 4 autonomy. This impact can already be felt across multiple sectors – with autonomous services being piloted or launched in different regions, and OEMs fitting more L4 features and systems onto their latest vehicles. This level of autonomy will also pave the way for new players while providing new opportunities for further automotive sectors such as mobility and trucking.
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.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Lexus NX.
The Lexus NX returns an acceptable score for user experience but struggles to impress with the joint lowest functionality score achieved by any vehicle tested in the past two years.
Notably it scores lower in functionality than the Lexus LS tested in 2021. Although the LS is considered a more premium model, the fact the NX has dropped two whole grades in functionality score is a backward step.
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.
A deep dive into the EV landscape and its charging infrastructure across major markets.
EVs are seeing a surge in both popularity and consumer uptake due to their wide availability from a variety of OEMs. For OEMs, this renewed interest follows government policies and incentives alongside the chance to embrace new business models and revenue streams. This has led to dozens of automakers adopting electrification strategies that will see their ICE vehicles phased out in favor of EVs before 2030.
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.
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.
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.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Hummer EV Pickup.
The Hummer EV Pickup returns impressive scores for both functionality and user experience (UX), with a higher UX result than the majority of vehicles evaluated the past two years, including many industry leaders. Notably it scores far better for UX than the Rivian R1T, also an all-electric truck in the premium segment, mainly due to the Hummer demonstrating a higher level of stability. However, a notable step down in terms of both functionality and UX is evident compared to the Cadillac Escalade; disappointing considering both models are from the same OEM.
In today’s after-sales experience, connected vehicle data is already being used to optimize vehicle maintenance and assist incident response efforts. As automotive technologies advance and become more integral to the vehicle lifecycle, from impacting the way vehicles are produced to how customers interact with them, a similar shift is taking place in the aftersales market.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Xpeng P5.
First impressions of the Xpeng P5 (China market car) are very positive: a minimalistic, high quality and clutter-free cockpit dominated by a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 15.6-inch portrait-configuration central display occupying the entire centre stack. The only immediately obvious physical controls are on the steering wheel, but even these are minimalistic and thoughtfully designed.
For the majority of drivers, commercial transactions have traditionally formed a key part of the ownership experience. Today, these transactions serve a variety of purposes outside the vehicle – from gas and petrol payments to service and maintenance costs. In the future, connectivity services will continue to develop alongside new automotive technologies and systems – allowing for greater commerce opportunities inside the vehicle.
An outline of today’s L4+ pilots, their use cases, and the key players involved.
Today, there are significant pilot services of Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Europe, China, and the USA. The trials vary significantly on a number of levels – including their level of maturity, the use cases being targeted, and the sectors that would benefit from the technologies being tested.
Over the next five years, the automotive industry will see more innovation than the past fifty. Arriving at an increasingly rapid pace, these advancements ultimately aim to deliver new features for consumers and disrupt the industry at large. They also span across multiple categories within the automotive ecosystem - from the development of the vehicle through to its end user experience.
A bi-annual guide to the latest in-vehicle apps from Europe, China, and the U.S.
The automotive industry is experiencing a shift that will gradually see vehicles defined more by the software they utilize and integrate than the hardware components they are built on. As such, the significance of in-vehicle apps for both the industry and the overall user experience is increasing rapidly. These apps, developed by OEMs and third-party developers alike, often work to offer consumers the functionality and convenience experienced in consumer electronics.
Within the automotive industry, the continued popularity of vehicle leasing has recently run alongside the rise and success of third-party mobility services. This success piqued OEM interest in the mobility service ecosystem - with some investigating the revenue streams it could open, and others investing in new mobility services or establishing their own.
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.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Renault Megane. The Megane’s OpenR link system is doubly surprising: firstly, a new system on a new EV platform that demonstrates a relatively high level of stability, and secondly, a Renault system that manages to score significantly higher than many industry leaders. With large screens, a positive user experience, a flat information architecture, highly responsive interactions and a pleasing level of functionality, the overall impression is of a premium system that for the most part succeeds in carrying over the slick experience of a high-end tablet interface into the car.
Many companies have quarterly reviews that work to assess their recent activity, output, and financial results while looking to the future. These reviews often provide an outside-in perspective that helps re-tune tactics as well as an opportunity for companies to establish targets for the next quarter.
The past few years have seen a surge in the number of start-ups providing an array of services for the automotive industry. Likewise, their offerings extend across the industry landscape - with products spanning infotainment, telematics, safety, security, and autonomous driving functions. Their offering within these areas is similarly diverse, with some autonomous start-ups developing specific sensors, and others developing full sensor suites.
Detailed analysis into advanced automotive technologies and a ten-year forecast for their adoption.
The continued development of connected and autonomous vehicles is enabling more technically advanced user experiences. These experiences will require significantly more capable computing platforms in the vehicle, on the edge, and in the cloud. Novel AI-enabled edge-oriented software stacks, for example, are currently being considered as a way to abstract runtime environments and provide an agile context for in-vehicle control.
Contextualizing significant announcements and their impacts for stakeholders while outlining how best to respond.
Every week sees a barrage of new announcements from the industry - with new vehicles, technologies, features, partnerships, and acquisitions announced at an increasingly frequent rate. These announcements alone often vary largely between regions and in their scale – from a new piece of technology intended specifically for one market, to a new vehicle envisioned for a global audience.
A report tracking the ADAS and autonomy offerings of OEMs in three major regions.
Since their arrival, automated and autonomous driving technologies have continued to advance. As they allow for increasing levels of autonomy, key players in the sector - including OEMs, start-ups, and technology firms - are trialing advanced solutions. These trials are occurring in tandem the steady development and release of similar solutions to the public in passenger vehicles and commercial fleets.
A report assessing the regional differences in the projected growth of semi-automated driving systems.
Interest in ADAS is growing at a rapid rate. OEMs today are integrating more features into their vehicles and announcing conceptual autonomous vehicles with the intent to produce them. This interest extends to a range of suppliers and technology companies who have the announced the development of new, dedicated, technologies for these vehicles.
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.
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.
In several regions across the western world, a growing number of luxury and mass-market OEMs are delivering new vehicles and technologies year-on-year. However, alongside these launches, the Chinese automotive market continues to innovate and excel, seeing more facelifts and model launches than any other market around the world.
In this edition, the UX team is testing the Rivian R1T. Its system offers an HMI experience that manages to be both familiar and unique in fairly equal parts. The in-vehicle experience bears no small resemblance to that of a modern Tesla
Overall, the vehicle provides a commendable HMI experience from a newcomer manufacturer, which is certainly comparable to offerings from other more stablished OEMs and, with improvements, has the potential to be a leader among peers.
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.
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.
An in depth analysis of the public white and black hat attacks on the evolving vehicle ecosystem, including technical analysis of hacking methods used and SBD’s proposed mitigations aligned with industry best practice and UNECE R155 Annex 5.
The Automotive Cyber Security Threat Intelligence Guide is designed to raise awareness on the diverse threats and vulnerabilities that affect vehicles and connected & autonomous vehicle systems.
Globally, the EV market has made impressive gains in the last few years, but much of this growth comes with a hidden cost: government-funded incentives.
As EVs become cheaper to produce and the purchase premium continually falls, incentives and price will be less dominant in the consumer purchase decision, but cost is only one of many factors that play an important role in the purchase decision.
In this edition, the UX Team is testing the Lucid Air. As a newcomer OEM, standing out from the established incumbents is a necessary achievement.
It would certainly appear initially that for Lucid’s first attempt, there is very little to separate the level of effort and execution from some of the industry heavy hitters, with a very convincing impression of brand language and modern style from an OEM with no tangible established brand impressions (yet).
An in-depth guide to the FaaS eco-system, its success to date, and its potential.
A growing number of OEMs are now integrating a wider variety of software into their vehicles. As the reach of this software expands to further areas of the vehicle, more opportunities are emerging to shift feature monetization from point-of-sale to after-sales. If adopted successfully, this business model – called Features-as-a-Service (FaaS) – will provide legacy OEMs with new revenue streams and pave the way for new players.
Mapping out the connected car data landscape and the best practices for data sharing.
Many OEMs already have data sharing strategies in place for major markets, such as Europe, China, and the U.S, while others are looking to implement them in at least one. These strategies often vary in size and scope, spanning from in-house APIs to integrations with third-party data marketplaces. At the same time, this offering can vary similarly between regions – with each supporting a unique set of implementations.
Analyzing the disruptive offerings and business models of emerging OEMs alongside their latest partnerships.
The automotive industry has recently seen an influx of new brands, start-ups, and OEMs. While many perceive Tesla to be at the forefront of this movement – having developed a range of vehicles, technologies, and services in a short span of time – a growing ecosystem of new disruptive OEMs is seeking to change this. Many are providing unique offerings, consumer-oriented features, and more affordable solutions in a bid to disrupt the overall automotive landscape.
To date, tech giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, and Alibaba have assisted the IVI, connected, and autonomous strategies of major OEMs around the world. In many cases, these companies have developed systems intended for a broad range of vehicles and multiple vehicle segments – one example being the adoption of smartphone mirroring systems as a common infotainment feature in many vehicles across different segments and regions.
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.
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.
Across numerous industries and sectors, personalization is known as the process in which customer journeys and experiences are individualized. To date, the automotive industry has delivered personalization across a selection of its own user experiences – including maintenance and infotainment. However, when compared to other industries, it is largely lagging behind in delivering an individualized end-to-end experience.
The 2021 HMI UX Benchmarking Report Summary has been created to provide a fair, unbiased and objective view of the latest in-vehicle HMI solutions in the European, US and Japanese markets. Evaluations are carried out by SBD usability experts with a deep understanding of CASE domains, specifically the Connected Car and ADAS & autonomy domains.
