Simona Almajan, NXP Semiconductors Romania: “Partnerships are critical in the automotive industry value chain, especially to develop software defined vehicles”

“The IPCEI project is a dream come true, we signed the contract 2 weeks ago and now we continue with the execution and reporting. 2024 was a year full of challenges. There were no particular challenges for Romania, but the same challenges that the automotive industry has, such as challenges related to the software architecture of cars.

We started collaborating with Tier 1 players and OEMs to define car architectures. We started to deliver integrated solutions that we design so that they are usable and enter these new and modern architectures of the machines of the future, those software defined vehicles.

We see more and more diversity in the way car manufacturers design these domain-centered architectures, zonal architectures with that powerful computer that orchestrates the communication part, with zonal gateways, with of course the objectives of simplifying complexity,” Simona Almajan, Country Manager, NXP Semiconductors Romania said during Automotive Forum 2024 organized by Automotive Today and The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“As there are many functionalities, the complexity of the machines increases. The current direction is towards integration, abstraction, towards modularization. The players on the value chain deliver more and more integrated products so that the one who uses them does not have to go into details.

2024 brought substantial progress in the technological advance related to software defined vehicles.

We are very proud to have opened the center in Sibiu, we have continued to grow even though we are facing the same challenges that the entire industry is going through. It is important to focus on the important things and continue to innovate.

Partnerships are critical in the global automotive industry value chain. To develop those software defined vehicles, for example, there are software companies, chip manufacturers, Tier 1 and OEM. It is more important than ever to have a closer collaboration in the industry, to understand the needs because disruption is major. Software defined vehicles will be very different from the cars we see on the roads today, that’s why it’s important to understand what the challenges are that car manufacturers have. Together we are stronger, and ideas can result from discussions and partnerships. Let’s not forget the relationship with universities and the need for innovation and research.

It is also very important to reduce the product development cycle, that time-to-market. We can no longer afford to wait years to launch a new car on the market. Cars in China are developed and launched twice as fast as in Europe.”