John Makin, Global Strategy Director for Automotive: „The recession is likely to drive greater collaboration between automakers rather than fierce competition.” (P)

John Makin, Global Strategy & Growth Director at Luxoft, explains the trends in Automotive, what to expect in the future, and what benefits Luxoft offers automotive employees.

1. What does the automotive sector look like today?

The Automotive industry has faced significant headwinds in recent years, from the coronavirus pandemic still affecting us today to the war in Ukraine, increasing fuel prices, the gas crisis, and soaring inflation. All of these are bringing countries to the edge of recession.

We see significant skill shortages across the globe as automakers pivot to become software companies, with software being a substantial part of vehicle development. As a result, cars are becoming defined by their software. In addition, Europe’s planned ban for the sale of new internal combustion engines will be a catalyst for innovation and investment.

2. What does competition in the automotive sector look like in these troubled times?

The risk of recessions around the world will change the outlook for players in the industry. However, I believe the economic conditions will likely drive greater collaboration between automakers rather than fierce competition. And that’s because the shortages and challenges on the horizon will considerably speed up innovation and significant investments, especially in the area of software.

3. What are the future trends in this area?

A common way of structuring software-defined vehicles is the concept of PACE: Personalized, Autonomous, Connected, and Electric.

Personalization is about differentiating brands based on user experience, and this personalized experience is becoming more intelligent and connected. In terms of autonomy, we won’t have fully Autonomous Vehicles (AV) in the next decade, but we will see autonomous features continue to emerge and ripple down into cheaper models. So it will be commercial vehicles that will lead the charge to the fully autonomous vehicle.

Regarding connectivity, cars have become even more flexible, with more and more smart features, and come with new insights. In addition, intelligent diagnostics and data collection mean cars will anticipate failures and pre-book service repairs and save us from expensive repairs. Until now, the relationship between the automaker and the vehicle owner was via the service center. Automakers will get closer to their end customers with connected cars by providing application services and collecting data about them. As a result, the link is much stronger.

On the electricity side, in addition to low running costs and a lower carbon footprint, electric cars allow for more IT to be powered in the car, allowing more screens, more intelligence, and more entertainment.

4. How does Luxoft deal with these trends?

A theme underpinning all these future trends is the car becoming defined by its software; thus, the industry is striving to develop software-defined vehicles. Luxoft’s strategy is built around us accelerating our customers’ transformation to develop software-defined vehicles. From advising and helping our customers shape their strategy, helping with the software development process methods and tools, us developing software for the car, or providing connectivity software for the vehicle. Luxoft has it covered. This is evidenced by our new announcement that Luxoft has joined the Eclipse Foundation to help accelerate the software-defined vehicle revolution.

The core of all these initiatives is our people. We continue to build strong engineering centers to support our people’s development with the needed knowledge so that Luxoft continues to be a pivotal contributor to software-defined vehicles.

Bucharest is one of Luxoft’s Automotive centers of excellence. The local teams deliver projects in the scope of the following Automotive domains: Autonomous Drive, In-Vehicle Platforms, Telematics, IVI, Android, Testing and Validation etc. Customers like VW, BMW, McLaren, Continental, Harman, Valeo and many others recognized over the years the quality of Luxoft services and the critical role played by the Bucharest center of Luxoft.

5. Do you have a perfect candidate automotive profile, or can any candidate find their place at Luxoft?

The ideal candidate is passionate about vehicles, software, and hardware is willing to develop himself / herself, and is motivated to be part of a team building the car of the future. We have many open projects and roles. I would encourage people not to try to be the perfect fit for a position but rather evaluate if that role would fit their ambitions. So, people with or without Automotive experience but with the proper technical knowledge and the right motivation can undoubtedly find their place at Luxoft. 

6. What are the benefits for Luxoft employees?

According to our last internal survey, the most appreciated benefits at Luxoft are recognition, training, a friendly environment, health and well-being, and work-life balance. We think that having the option to work remotely, in a hybrid model, or in-office, according to your preferences and needs, is one of the most essential benefits alongside the flexible work schedule arrangements.  

We have developed a new concept called <Chapters>, and its purpose is to Grow, Unite, and Lead. We have communities of people built around technologies (Technology Chapters), industry-specific domains (Domain Chapters), or cross-industry domains(Horizontal Chapters). In Automotive, we have developed strong training programs driven by the Automotive Domain Chapters addressing both the Junior level and the Regular and up levels, when we create customized programs addressing the required skills needed to deliver complex Automotive projects in Telematics, or Autonomous Drive, or In Vehicle Platforms, IVI, Testing and Validation, etc. We have a number of events driven by Chapters happening every month where people can join and learn about various technologies, or the latest news for a domain, etc

Besides that, we have modern tools and processes such as a training center, global relocation program, internal mobility and mentoring programs specially designed to develop high-performing teams.