The dilemma of shipping fast versus maintaining quality
I'm not just talking about automotive software development. I think it applies to all development. However, it seems to be much more relevant in automotive software development, where dependencies and architecture are incredibly complex. Is it better to release the product quickly or to maintain the quality and solidify consumer trust? It's a difficult story. It's also easy to say. Put it in context...
The reason for this is that China's automotive market is huge, and good software is coming out fast and furiously. On the other hand, there is a lot of talk that traditional automakers are not keeping up with the pace and are lagging behind in innovation. This in turn affects consumers' propensity to buy, which can lead to poor sales.
They're still selling as premium brands, but they're losing market share. We are having a lot of discussions about this. We're talking a lot with our local suppliers, and we're listening to their opinions.
There's a lot of internal debate. There's a lot of people saying, “Let's get it out there as fast as we can and get it out there and get it updated OTA,” and there's a lot of people saying, “Let's do a good job of architecting for sustainability and for the whole fleet and get started. There's also a lot of talk about finding a middle ground, and it's true that the definition and opinion of that middle ground is also divided.
So there is a tendency for many companies to look at China as another big market and let it develop on its own. And when it comes to applying it globally, they try to center it well and develop it anew. We are still discussing it. There's no right answer. Speed is also incredibly important.
Anyway, I'm writing this while munching on a can of Qingtao draft beer from China.