Software-Defined Mobility Rethinking Engineering: "Toolchains Kill Speed"

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Huawei is demonstrating what is already possible today with its new luxury brand Maextro: a complete, integrated platform with a clear architecture, end-to-end data model and OTA capabilities. The decisive factor is not the size of the brand, but how consistently the digital architecture is implemented.

Huawei provides a tangible example of how digital development platforms work in practice - and in series production. It is a challenge to the engineering understanding of established car manufacturers and a warning to those who believe they can survive in the era of software-defined vehicles with traditional development processes. The next generation of vehicles will no longer be decided in the wind tunnel, but in the code and, above all, in the tool chain.

Engineering in the Rear-View Mirror

A look at the reality of German and European development departments shows: Excel spreadsheets, e-mail chains and fragmented processes still dominate. There are exceptions and beacons, of course. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) are the central tools of vehicle development - from the initial idea to the design and management of software, hardware and variants. However, PLM, ALM and CAD still too often exist as separate systems with minimal traceability. Changes are documented manually, variants are managed in silos, requirements are passed on without context. The result: a lack of consistency, slow processes and a high susceptibility to errors.

Yet car manufacturers are aware of the change. Strategy documents such as the "Porsche Strategy 2030 Plus" emphasize the importance of digital platforms and data-driven services. But as long as engineering itself remains trapped in analog structures, these ambitions will fizzle out. The difference between aspiration and reality then becomes a strategic gap. This is precisely where Huawei and partners such as JAC come in.

Implementing Instead of Endlessly Discussing

With Maextro, Huawei is positioning itself in the ultra-premium segment not just with looks or performance, but with consistently implemented technical architecture. The brand is part of the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), a technology-driven ecosystem that integrates platform, user experience and data architecture from the outset. The first model, the Maextro S800, was pre-ordered thousands of times in just a few weeks.

The key lies in the substructure: a consistent, OTA-capable software stack, clear interfaces, standardized variant management and AI-driven services. While European manufacturers are discussing modular platforms and functional convergence, we deliver here. This is made possible by an end-to-end digital development basis, built along an intelligent product lifecycle that consistently connects all relevant data across system and department boundaries.

The System Question in Engineering

The current toolchains in the automotive industry are not made for software-defined vehicles. They slow down innovation, extend time-to-market and jeopardize competitiveness. Above all, they prevent the ability to scale, both technically and organizationally.

Separate processes for PLM, ALM and CAD inevitably lead to redundancies, media disruptions and inefficient change processes. Traceability - i.e. the traceability of requirements, parts lists, configurations and software versions - is usually only rudimentary. However, it is precisely this traceability that is becoming a basic requirement: for compliance, for AI-driven automation, for digital homologation and OTA capability.

The Hour of the System Architects

Automotive manufacturers who want to remain competitive in 2026 must rethink their tool chains - as an integrated system and not as a collection of individual tools. It's not about the next feature or tool, but about consolidation. The integration of PLM, ALM and CAD into a consistent, scalable tool chain creates the basis for consistent data models, automated processes and cross-system collaboration.

This is the only way to create the bridge that is currently missing: between engineering and IT, between car manufacturer and supplier, between legacy and future. Investing in consolidated toolchains is not a technical optimization - it is strategic. This is because it determines the speed of innovation, scalability and ultimately the ability to keep pace with global competition.

Platforms Impress - Toolchains Decide

The path to software-defined mobility does not begin in the vehicle, but in the systems with which it is developed. Those who rely on old structures not only lose time, but also the future. Huawei and its partners are using Maextro to show how data-integrated engineering can become a market advantage. OEMs must have the courage to consistently renew their toolchains along an intelligent product lifecycle, otherwise they will be overtaken by those who have already done so. Such transformations require not only new systems, but also new ways of thinking and reliable technology partners who accompany the change with experience, scalability and strategic foresight. (se)

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