“I
’ll be egotistical and say we invented the term ‘software-defined vehicle’,” said Sonatus boss Jeffrey Chou with a laugh.
It’s not entirely true – you can find versions of the term going back to the 1970s – but this American software engineer and entrepreneur was well placed to be among the first to see the ongoing shift.
As the automotive industry is transformed by the development of software-defined vehicles (cars designed around their computer systems, allowing for over-the-air updates and upgrades, in-car payment methods and advanced artificial intelligence systems), so technology firms have started to expand into it.