“Global platforms need local freedom”

At the AUTOMOBIL-ELEKTRONIK Kongress 2026, Ned Curic, EVP, Chief Engineering Officer and CTO at Stellantis, showed how the Group is using STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit to create key foundations for the software-defined vehicle. What becomes clear is that digital functions create real added value above all when they make everyday life in the vehicle easier — whether in navigation, communication, media use, gaming or classic vehicle functions such as heating, seats and vehicle access.

In the following interview, Curic explains why personalisation is only helpful when the customer remains in control, how centralised architectures make it easier to develop new functions, and why global software platforms must still leave room for brand identity, regional requirements and local customer expectations.

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Many customers want less complexity in the car — not simply more and more digital functions. How does Stellantis decide which features actually improve the driving experience?

We have learned that people mainly do four things in the car: they navigate, they communicate, they use media and they operate vehicle functions. Navigation obviously plays a central role in the vehicle. What matters is how easy it is to enter an address, how intuitive the operation is and what information appears on the screens. Communication also has to work seamlessly. Telephony and voice quality have to be right across the entire chain — from the cockpit and the audio system to the microphones. For the customer, this should not feel like a technical function; it simply has to work as expected.

Then there is entertainment. This is about which radio stations, content, audiobooks or applications people want to use in the car. That is why we bundle these functions in our vehicles in a media hub. The fourth area is classic vehicle functions, such as heating, seats or other controls. Once these fundamental elements are well executed, connected services, apps and additional services can build on them.

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Personalisation is regarded as one of the major promises of modern vehicles. Where is the line between helpful and intrusive?

The decisive point is that the customer must remain in control. Some people want a more personalised, more intelligent vehicle. If someone regularly drives to Starbucks in the morning, the car can infer that this destination is likely to be relevant again and suggest the route directly. Others find exactly that uncomfortable. They ask themselves: how does the car know where I want to go?

That is why the customer must be able to define at an early stage how personalised the vehicle should be. Those who want more assistance can have it. Those who prefer less personalisation must have that option as well. This decision should not be hidden; it should clearly lie with the customer from the outset.

The software-defined vehicle is often discussed in the industry from an engineering perspective. What needs to change internally for customer experience to truly become the starting point of software development?

Historically, many in-vehicle experiences were strongly shaped by suppliers or limited by the complexity of existing systems. It was not the case that internal teams did not know what they wanted to develop for the customer. Many things were simply difficult to implement in the technical environment at the time — with around 100 control units in the vehicle and the task of integrating all these systems with one another.

With more centralised architectures, it becomes much easier to think from the customer experience. Take vehicle access, in other words opening and closing the doors. Today, I no longer need to bring together four or five different systems for that; I can rely on a more centralised architecture. It is similar with the cockpit experience. If we have better control over hardware and software, we can shape the customer experience more freely. In the past, car manufacturers often had neither the hardware nor the software fully in their own hands. That made the development of new functions complicated. Now, many things are becoming easier.

At the Automobil-Elektronik Kongress, you spoke about two central platforms, STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit. How does Stellantis balance global scalability with regional requirements and the different profiles of 14 brands?

With STLA Brain, that is comparatively straightforward. At its core, it is about the computing power and the software that controls central vehicle functions. This foundation is similar across many vehicles. In the cockpit, the task is significantly more complex. Brand identity, regional requirements, languages and local customer expectations all play a major role.

That is why we have developed a framework in which around 85 per cent of the software remains the same across brands and regions. On top of that, there are additional layers through which we represent the necessary individualisation. These adaptations are template-based. They concern look and feel, languages and specific brand experiences. This allows us to bring out regional and brand-specific differences without giving up the scalability of the platform.

How difficult was it to set up this model?

The path to get there was not easy. But now that the framework is in place, the further implementation is much clearer. We can use global software platforms while still enabling the differentiation that our brands and individual regions need.

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