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French automaker Renault is partnering with Google (GOOGL, $88.90) to develop its cars like a tech company makes software. The pact, which expands on a previous collaboration between the two firms, will see Renault commit to making what it calls a “software-defined” vehicle using technology from Google’s cloud division.
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The companies will work together to create a “Digital Twin,” or a virtual carbon copy of a vehicle that features advanced artificial intelligence capabilities “for an easier and continuous integration of new services into the vehicle and the creation of new onboard (In-Car Services) and offboard applications."
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Google and Renault claim that collaborating on software and testing out new AI capabilities in a virtual simulation will help improve the vehicle’s operations through improved, real-time diagnostics. The car will tell the driver when it’s in need of maintenance or even rectifies the problem itself.
Why it matters
Renault first partnered with Google in 2018 to integrate the tech giant’s Android operating system into in-car media displays. This development comes as other automakers move to develop software-defined vehicles as they rush to compete with Tesla (TSLA, $191.30), which has come to define what customers expect from their vehicle’s software. The idea is that a vehicle is sold with a base level of hardware and that its features are largely dictated by its software, which can be updated and improved with over-the-air updates.
