Why the Industry Needs to Shift from SDV to UDV
The automotive industry is experiencing what one expert calls a “Nokia-Apple moment” – a fundamental transformation driven by software. But are we focusing on the right thing? In an episode of “Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling,” Martin Schleicher, a 25-year veteran of automotive software development and former leader at Continental and Elektrobit, challenges the industry’s current obsession with Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV). His provocative insight: what we actually need is a User-Defined Vehicle (UDV).
This isn’t just semantic wordplay. As Martin explains, “What we actually need is a user-defined vehicle, giving the users flexibility and choice to customize and adapt the vehicles defined by software according to them.” This shift in perspective – from technology-first to customer-first thinking – represents a crucial evolution in how the automotive industry approaches innovation. In this conversation, Martin shares insights from three decades at the intersection of software and mobility, revealing why cultural perspectives matter, how AI will reshape development, and why storytelling remains essential in an increasingly complex technical landscape.
The Archaeologist Who Became a Software Pioneer
Before diving into the technical depths of automotive transformation, Martin’s personal journey offers a fascinating glimpse into how careers evolve with technology. “During school, I was keen to become an archaeologist,” Martin reveals. “I wanted to unearth the secrets. But when I came across my first computer in school, this changed overnight.”
This intellectual curiosity – the desire to uncover hidden truths – has remained constant throughout Martin’s career, even as his focus shifted from ancient artifacts to lines of code. His path took an unexpected turn through medical devices before landing in automotive software in the 1990s, when the industry began its massive electronics revolution.
The Medical Device Connection
Martin’s experience with large medical equipment proved surprisingly relevant to automotive systems. “If you look at these large medical devices like x-rays, computer tomographs, they already had very similar architecture at that time,” he explains. “Distributed systems, communicating over the CAN bus, but also safety aspects – you don’t want to endanger patients with too much x-ray doses.”
This cross-industry experience gave Martin a unique perspective on automotive software development, understanding that the challenges of safety-critical, distributed systems weren’t unique to vehicles.
Software-Defined Vehicles: A Cultural Perspective
One of the most striking insights from our conversation concerns how different regions approach the SDV transformation – and the results are revealing.
Europe Looks East, America Looks West
“If you talk to US companies, they usually look at what’s happening at the US West Coast,” Martin observes. “If you talk to European companies, especially the Germans, they look to China.”
This geographic orientation matters more than you might think. Chinese automakers have demonstrated remarkable pragmatism in their approach to software-defined vehicles. “Chinese are very smart, they are very pragmatic, no frills, just do it, which gives them speed,” Martin notes.
Key Regional Differences:
- China: Pragmatic, fast-moving, focused on rapid deployment
- US West Coast: Innovation-driven, startup mentality, consumer tech influence
- Europe/Germany: Engineering-focused, standards-oriented, quality-driven
The implication is clear: European manufacturers studying Chinese success stories may be better positioned than those simply trying to replicate Silicon Valley’s approach. The Chinese automotive software ecosystem has evolved in parallel with, rather than in reaction to, Western approaches – and there’s much to learn from their velocity.
From Software-Defined to User-Defined: A Critical Distinction
This is where Martin’s perspective becomes truly distinctive. While the industry obsesses over Software-Defined Vehicles, Martin argues we’re missing the point.
Putting Customer Experience at the Center
“What we actually need is a user-defined vehicle, giving the users flexibility and choice to customize and adapt the vehicles defined by software according to them,” Martin emphasizes. This represents a fundamental shift in thinking – from engineering capability to customer value.
The difference isn’t subtle:
- SDV thinking: What can software enable in the vehicle?
- UDV thinking: What do users want to control and customize?
As I noted during our conversation, “This is fascinating because honestly speaking, I think you’re the first one I’m talking to in the context of SDV to put the customer experience so much at the center of it.”
This customer-centric approach addresses a critical gap in how the automotive industry has traditionally approached innovation – starting with technical capability rather than customer needs.
AI’s Dual Role: Development Tool and User Experience Enhancer
When discussing artificial intelligence in automotive, Martin sees transformation happening on two fronts – and his prediction is bold.
The AI-Defined Vehicle
“My prediction is that we are talking about the AI-defined vehicle instead of the software-defined vehicle,” Martin suggests. But this evolution serves two distinct purposes.
In Development: AI can revolutionize how automotive software is created. “Think about typical automotive development according to the V model, A-SPICE, functional safety,” Martin explains. “Most of the development effort is not about writing code. It’s reviewing things, documenting, testing things, making sure everything is consistent.”
This is where AI shines – taking over the “boring work” of:
- Writing test cases
- Reviewing documentation
- Ensuring process compliance
- Generating comprehensive test coverage
In User Experience: AI enables unprecedented personalization and adaptability. However, Martin adds a crucial caveat: “Transparency is needed for the user to understand why AI comes up with certain recommendations. Otherwise, I’m afraid that customers will not necessarily trust AI if they cannot understand the certain behavior.”
This transparency requirement aligns perfectly with the user-defined vehicle concept – users must understand and control how AI adapts their vehicle experience.
The Storytelling Challenge: Making Software Tangible
Throughout his career, Martin has faced a consistent challenge: communicating about something invisible. “Software is intangible,” he observes. “You don’t see anything, and even the process of creating software, you don’t see much – just engineers typing at a screen.”
Three Principles for Software Storytelling
Martin’s approach to storytelling offers valuable lessons for anyone communicating complex technical concepts:
- Customer Perspective First “Customers want to understand, they want to influence, they want to control it. So showing them the levers, the areas where they can influence, where they can control and show this in a transparent way is a best practice.”
- Use Relevant Analogies Martin’s restaurant analogy is particularly effective: “If you’re a good chef, can you run a restaurant? It’s not the same. You need to understand all the business and the economic side of the point of view, not just make great recipes. It’s the same for software.”
- Test Your Stories “What I did is not trying to come up with one simple story to tell, but rather test it and float it around with colleagues and others,” Martin advises. “Try them and see how well it works with your specific case upfront before you go out to an important customer or executive workshop.”
What Doesn’t Work
Martin also shared a cautionary tale about storytelling that backfired: “In computer science, there is a mathematical proof that software has errors. This didn’t help any customer discussion to say I can prove that there’s some errors in the software.”
The lesson? Truth without context can undermine trust. Sometimes being technically correct isn’t enough – you must frame insights in ways that help rather than alarm your audience.
The Open Source Imperative
While not the primary focus of our conversation, Martin’s role in industry collaboration – including his chairmanship of the NDS Association and involvement with Eclipse SDV – underscores a critical point about the future of automotive software: No company can do this alone.
The complexity and velocity required for software-defined vehicles demands industry-wide collaboration, shared standards, and yes, open-source approaches where appropriate. The traditional competitive moats of the automotive industry are shifting from manufacturing excellence to software ecosystems – and ecosystems thrive on collaboration.
Conclusion: The Human Story Behind the Code
Martin Schleicher’s journey from aspiring archaeologist to automotive software leader embodies the human narrative behind automotive innovation. His insights remind us that the transformation to software-defined (or better yet, user-defined) vehicles isn’t just a technical challenge – it’s a storytelling challenge, a cultural challenge, and ultimately, a customer experience challenge.
The automotive industry stands at a crossroads similar to what consumer electronics faced when smartphones emerged. Those who win won’t necessarily be those with the best technology, but those who best understand what users want to control, customize, and experience in their vehicles.
As Martin’s work demonstrates, the future of automotive software requires:
- Shifting from SDV to UDV mindset
- Learning from global approaches, especially China’s pragmatic speed
- Leveraging AI for both development efficiency and user experience
- Making intangible software tangible through effective storytelling
- Collaborating through standards and open-source initiatives
Listen to the Full Episode
This article only scratches the surface of Martin’s insights. For the complete conversation, including deeper discussions on development processes, industry standards, and the cultural nuances shaping automotive software, listen to the full episode of “Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling.”
Connect with Martin Schleicher on LinkedIn to follow his ongoing work making software-defined (and user-defined) vehicles a reality.
“Behind every dashboard and every feature lies a human story – and those are the stories we’re committed to uncovering here on Under the Hood.”
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Keywords: software-defined vehicle, user-defined vehicle, automotive software, SDV transformation, AI in automotive, automotive innovation, software development, automotive industry, Martin Schleicher, Continental, Elektrobit