Software requirement galloping

10 May 2004: About a million lines of software code is required to make the computers in a modern car do their thing.

That compares to around 100 lines of code in 1970, while the requirement is expected to rise to 100 million before the end of the current decade.

The figures come from automotive electronics systems supplier Robert Bosch. But the downside of all this galloping electronicisation is that almost a third of all breakdowns are now electrical or electronicially-related.

And a shortage of electrical engineers in western Europe has led to a lack of internal expertise at top management levels in the automotive industry.

©2004 irishcar.com