PHOTOGRAPHY: MOHD NASIR
The Special Plenary Session 2 at the 65th Annual Convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on “Embracing the Future: Strategic Development and Market Integration of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) in India” highlighted the role of software-driven vehicles in advancing sustainable mobility.
The opening remarks for the session was delivered by Session Chairman, RajanWadhera, Member, SCALE Committee, Government of India, former president, Automotive Sector, M&M and former President SIAM.
Dr. Christopher Borroni-Bird, Founder, Afreecar, USA, delivered a presentation on “Risks, Challenges and Benefits of SDVs and What This Could Mean for the Indian Mobility Market.” He discussed the attitudes towards technology, which included fear and love of technologies; explained how software defined vehicles are more like smartphones; gave clarity between connected vehicles and software defined vehicles; elaborated upon the challenges and opportunities of SDVs and showcased how software and content is taking over the car’s value. He highlighted, “The path to SDVs is a major disruption for automakers.”
Sri Subramanian, Global Head of GenAI for Automotive, NVIDIA, presented on “GenAI and SDVs: Powering India's Vision for Safer, Smarter Mobility.” He said, “India is currently in a foundational phase of adopting SDVs. Generative AI is not simply another tool; it is a strategic enabler that is fundamentally shaping the Indian automotive sector. Multimodality is the next frontier in GenAI-enabled content creation and content discovery. While 92% of enterprises are investing in AI, only 1% of them have mature AI deployments.”
Andreas Tschiesner, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, Germany, presented on “Evolution of Software-Defined Vehicles, Market Trends and Their Impact on OEM Collaboration and New Business Models.”He discussed how software-defined vehicles are revolutionizing the automotive value chain, stating, “In 2035, we expect 30% of all produced vehicles will be built on zonal E/E architectures. Companies are leveraging cloud-managed development, AI-powered coding, and virtual twin technology to accelerate SDV development.”