GM Pushes For Over-The-Air Updates

Taking a page out of Tesla’s playbook, GM is moving forward with a plan to use over-the-air updates. This juicy tidbit of information came straight from CEO Mary Barra during an analyst conference call, reports Automotive News. The goal is to have the tech up and running in new GM vehicles before 2020 rolls around.

To make this happen, GM is creating a new electrical vehicle architecture. It will include a built-in modem, so cars can receive updates wirelessly as needed. Considering the growing number of electronic features consumers supposedly are demanding in cars, the reworking of the electrical architecture is absolutely necessary.

So far, GM is the only major automaker to even hint it’s going to use over-the-air updates for anything other than infotainment systems. The move is wise, considering it will allow the company to keep things fresh and even potentially deploy patches for recalls. Just think how pleased car owners will be to avoid a visit to the dealership service department.

This move might not seem like a big deal to some, but it’s huge. To create viable autonomous vehicles, GM and every other automaker must adopt over-the-air updates. After all, as faults are uncovered in software, or when maps need updating as roads change and such, it’s the best way to fix things quickly. Over-the-air updates could even save lives, because as we know, people will just trust the car will do what they believe it should.