Hitachi has acquired automotive software developer Seneos, based in Germany, for an undisclosed fee. The deal, by Hitachi Automotive Systems, bolsters the Japanese firm’s software capabilities in the automotive space, as the tide of vehicle connectivity, electrification, and automation places increasing focus on software.
In its press statement, echoing the old line about modern smartphones featuring more code than the space shuttle, Hitachi quoted American-Dutch semiconductor firm NXP, that connected road vehicles today have “10 times or more lines of code” than airplanes.
“As modern automobiles become increasingly sophisticated with advanced features such as electrification, autonomous driving, and connectivity, the number of software applications used per vehicle has been increasing,” it said.
“[This] acquisition will reinforce [our] front-end engineering capabilities to strengthen development of software for auto parts. [It] will also improve the company’s ability to develop complex software in accordance with local business needs, standardised software architectures, and software development processes.”
Cologne-based Seneos calls itself a “software development system engineering service company”, which focuses primarily on the automotive components sector. It works mainly with European automakers. Its automotive customers include: Continental, Ford, Bosch, Daimler, and Porsche, among others.
It also works with Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone on connected fleet and machine solutions.
Hitachi is expanding its customer base of European automakers, as electrification of the sector gathers pace. In a statement, it said the deal will see it accelerate development of advanced vehicle solutions with integrated control systems
“Hitachi Automotive Systems can harness the software development capabilities that seneos has built in Europe, enhance the competitiveness of its products and systems, and further grow sales,” it said.
