BERLIN, Nov 17, Reuters -- German luxury carmaker Piech Automotive's first market ready electric vehicle model will use a software designed by Germany's Incari that allows it to update its digital dashboard system much quicker than its rivals, both companies said on Wednesday.
The software will allow Piech to update its infotainment system and other software components within a matter of minutes, 70% faster than its competitors, Incari CEO Osman Dumbuya said. He said that the updating process takes weeks and can rack up 5 digit engineering bills.
German auto manufacturers are investing heavily in top-end engineers to design competitive software, as looming competition from Apple and Tesla threatens to displace the country's reputation as leaders in technological research and development.
It's about speed over size, according to Piech Automotive CEO Toni Piech, who co-founded the firm in 2016 at a showing of the vehicle in Berlin on Wednesday.
Through our partnership with Incari we have succeeded where most large and established manufacturers have failed - a smart, software-based collaboration between designers and engineers very early on, he said.
Piech Automotive is due to release its 200,000 euro $226,620. The vehicle has already attracted attention for using a battery technology developed by Chinese company Desten Group that allows an 80% charge in 5 minutes, solving the problem of slow charging time, cited by potential electric vehicle buyers as a barrier to purchase.
Incari's software, Incari Studio, allows users to build digital interfaces in 3D without having to know how to code, bypassing the need to refer back to software engineers to make edits or changes in design, Dumbuya said.
Piech is the first autos manufacturer to use the software at scale, but German software firm Incari is testing protoypes with several major European transport firms, Dumbuya said.