MR
about podcast icon
Under The Hood: Automotive Storytelling
November 12, 2025

SDVs: How Mercedes-Benz Cut Development from Years to Weeks

- Markus Rettstatt, Mercedes-Benz EP26

Behind every automotive innovation lies a human story. Hosted by Stéphane Lagresle, founder of The Storytelling Tribe, this podcast reveals how industry leaders translate complex technologies into compelling narratives. Through conversations with automotive executives, discover practical frameworks for making automotive innovations relatable and meaningful. For executives, product leaders, and marketers transforming mobility through better communication.

Follow
us on

See All

Share
Episode

From 5 Years To 6 Weeks: The Sdv Revolution

When Mercedes-Benz's software team achieved in weeks what traditionally took years, they proved that having an entirely new approach to automotive's software can bring incredible results. In this new episode of "Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling" brought to you by The Storytelling Tribe, we sit down with Markus Rettstatt, Head of Software Defined Car Unit at Mercedes-Benz Tech Innovation and Eclipse SDV Ambassador, to decode how a 130-year-old automotive giant is becoming a software company.

Key
Insights

  • The Cultural Earthquake: When Software Becomes the Product

    Markus reveals the hardest part of Mercedes-Benz’s transformation: convincing hardware-minded leaders that software isn’t “instructions for hardware” anymore – it’s the primary value layer. Discover why this shift demands new mental models about ownership, control, and what actually creates competitive advantage.

  • The Open Source Paradox: Why Mercedes Shares Code with Competitors

    How can sharing diagnostic software with BMW, startups, and Chinese developers strengthen Mercedes’ position? Markus explains the counterintuitive strategy behind OpenSOVD – and why reducing development cycles from years to weeks requires collaboration.

  • The Living Vehicle: Why Your 2025 Car Will Be Better in 2030

    Software-defined vehicles don’t depreciate like traditional cars – they improve. Learn how continuous updates are transforming the used car market, creating unprecedented value retention, and fundamentally changing what “buying a car” means for the next decade.

Key Learning Icon

Practical
Takeaways

  • Lead with Why, Not What:
    Transformation fails when engineers start with technical details. Start with customer impact, then developer benefits, then business value – in that order. That’s how you build momentum.
  • Prove It with Demos, Not Memos:
    Markus’s team didn’t write proposals about vertical integration – they built a working demo covering 80% of test cases in six weeks. Change comes from showing, not telling.
  • Use Neutral Foundations for Collaboration:
    Hosting projects through Eclipse Foundation eliminates legal barriers and enables global contribution – even with geopolitically sensitive markets.
  • Design for Hardware Independence:
    Build abstraction layers that separate software from chips. This enables market flexibility (different chips for different regions) and future-proofs vehicles for computing evolution.
Practical Takeaways Icon
Podcast CTA Left Image
Podcast CTA Left Image
pcbg right img

Where Technology Meets Narrative

Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling uncovers the human narratives driving innovation in an industry that impacts lives worldwide. Hosted by Stéphane Lagresle, this podcast explores how the power of storytelling ultimately connects technology to humans

Book a Session