OTA updates raise new software approval questions
In connected models such as the Leapmotor C10, over-the-air updates are becoming a recurring part of the vehicle lifecycle.
Leapmotor
A survey by German vehicle inspection and testing organisation Dekra and Ipsos shows growing driver interest in over-the-air updates. Owners value fewer workshop visits, but Dekra says software changes still need independent approval and inspection.
Interest among German car owners in wireless software updates for their vehicles is increasing. In a survey conducted by Dekra, a German vehicle inspection and testing organisation, and market research institute Ipsos, 56 per cent of respondents said they were generally interested in so-called over-the-air updates. In a comparable survey four years ago, the figure was 47 per cent.
The result matters beyond Germany because over-the-air updates are becoming part of the global vehicle lifecycle. Cars are increasingly updated after delivery in a similar way to smartphones, with software changes used to fix bugs, improve functions or activate new features without a workshop visit. For drivers, over-the-air software updates therefore promise more convenience and a vehicle that can stay technically current for longer.
Why software updates raise approval questions
Dekra links the growing interest in OTA updates to a regulatory and safety issue. From the testing organisation’s perspective, the possibility of changing vehicle software after approval raises questions about whether the vehicle still corresponds to the condition originally assessed during type approval. “The vehicle, which was thoroughly tested as part of homologation and then received type approval, may no longer correspond in important respects to the type-approved condition after the update,” explained Dekra CEO Jann Fehlauer.
From his point of view, a new software version and its effects on the vehicle should therefore be checked just as carefully and independently as the vehicle software was during the original type-approval process. Dekra argues that this should happen before the update is rolled out.
The issue is becoming more relevant as software increasingly affects functions beyond infotainment. Updates can influence operating logic, assistance functions, cybersecurity, diagnostics, energy management and other vehicle characteristics. That makes the boundary between convenience update and safety-relevant change increasingly important for manufacturers, regulators and inspection bodies.
What needs to be checked in the vehicle
Dekra also points to the need for verification at the level of the individual vehicle. According to Fehlauer, it should later be possible to check whether the software status in a specific vehicle corresponds to the approved “condition after update”. Anything else would be irresponsible from the perspective of road safety, he said.
This turns OTA capability into a governance topic. The technical ability to distribute software remotely is only one part of the process. Manufacturers must also be able to document what was changed, which vehicle received which version, whether the update was installed correctly and whether the approved safety concept remains intact.
That challenge is closely linked to software-update strategy across the vehicle lifecycle. Once cars can be changed after delivery, approval, traceability and inspection have to evolve with the product. The more functions are updated remotely, the more important it becomes to keep software versions transparent and verifiable.
For carmakers, OTA updates remain an important route to improving vehicles after sale. For customers, they promise fewer workshop appointments and faster access to bug fixes or new functions. For regulators and inspection organisations, however, they create the need for reliable evidence that the vehicle on the road still matches the approved technical state.
The Dekra and Ipsos survey therefore shows two sides of the same development. Drivers are becoming more open to remote software updates. At the same time, the industry has to ensure that this flexibility does not weaken type approval, inspection and road safety.
