Automakers Add Excessive Tech to Vehicles Amid Ongoing Chip Shortage
Automakers are packing new vehicles with excessive technology and software, a trend experts call feature bloat that worsens the global chip shortage. This overload of unnecessary features leads to higher prices and decreased reliability for modern car buyers.
The global chip shortage in the auto industry stems not just from a lack of manufacturing, but from a growing problem with feature bloat. Automakers constantly load new vehicles with excessive technology to compete for buyers, as recent CES 2022 demonstrations from companies like Bosch, Panasonic, and BMW clearly illustrate. However, industry experts point out that this relentless push for whiz-bang features creates an unsustainable demand for semiconductors.
This technological overload means modern cars contain around 100 million lines of code, a staggering increase that rivals the complexity of jet fighters from a decade ago. Executives from software companies like Altia argue that there is simply too much unnecessary software packed into today's vehicles. Because no software is completely bug-free, this massive increase in code directly causes the spotty reliability that frustrates many modern car owners.
Consumers ultimately pay the price for this arms race in automotive technology through higher vehicle costs and unavailable features. Consumer Reports data reveals that high-end electric SUVs suffer from poor reliability specifically because of these complex tech packages, rather than issues with their core electric powertrains. As automakers continue to burden vehicles with features that buyers do not actually demand, this cycle of software bloat and unreliability only gets worse.