The Dispatch: Week 6
Honda-Nissan merger hits a wall. Ford recalls a lot of trucks. VW goes agile. Auto industry executives playing musical chairs.
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Happy Thursday & Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day! 🍦
It’s Thursday, February 6, and Week 6 of 2025—which means we’re serving up a fresh batch of must-know SDV news from the past seven days. While automakers are busy navigating mergers, recalls, and software shifts, those of us in the U.S. have an extra reason to celebrate: It’s National Frozen Yogurt Day! So whether you're diving into zonal architectures or just a cup of fro-yo, we’ve got your latest scoops right here. Let’s dig in!
🚀 Top Story
Honda-Nissan Merger Talks Stalls Out
🔍 What Happened: Merger discussions between Honda and Nissan have hit a roadblock. The proposed alliance aimed to strengthen EV and SDV development through shared resources and platforms, but disagreements over leadership, technology sharing, and brand identity have put talks on hold until mid-February.
💬 Consumer Buzz: Over on the popular subreddit r/cars, users are skeptical, citing corporate culture clashes and past management struggles as major hurdles. Some believe Nissan’s future hangs in the balance if the deal collapses, leaving them to seek alternative partnerships or restructuring.
💡 Our Take: If this merger fails, it’s a missed opportunity for both OEMs. The synergies are substantial: Honda’s engineering expertise combined with Nissan’s early EV leadership (think Leaf) can create a formidable lineup of electric, software-defined vehicles that can give the competition a real run for the money. Both Honda and Nissan have been lagging behind on the integration of advanced vehicle software, and this partnership could accelerate their tech maturity. Without a deal, both remain vulnerable to “SDV native” players like Tesla and BYD, whose software-first approach continues to set the pace. The SDV race is about who can innovate faster, and without collaboration, both Honda and Nissan risk falling further behind. Stay tuned—talks resume in mid-February.
📰 Industry Pulse
Ford Recalls Over 70K Vehicles Over Rearview Camera Malfunction
Ford is recalling 72,624 vehicles, including select 2021 Expeditions, 2021-2022 Super Duty trucks, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsairs, due to defective rearview cameras. Affected vehicles may display a blank or distorted image, increasing the risk of a crash. NHTSA has labeled this Campaign Number 25V048000, with owner notification letters going out February 17, 2025. The solution from Ford to remedy the defect is still under development.
💡 Our Take: If this is a software issue, an OTA fix could save Ford millions. Even if half of the vehicles receive an OTA update, Ford slashes costs and dealer visits—a win for both consumers and the bottom line. Here’s the math:
🔧 Traditional repair: 72K x $200 (in-person fix) = $14.4M
📡 OTA fix: 72K x $3 (remote update) = $216K
Volkswagen Partners with Dassault Systèmes to Optimize SDV Manufacturing
Volkswagen is partnering with Dassault Systèmes to deploy the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, streamlining SDV engineering and manufacturing. The goal? Standardized processes, faster software-hardware integration, and reduced time-to-market across all Volkswagen Group brands.
💡 Our Take: VW is making a strategic leap toward agile, software-driven development. With virtual twin technology, they can accelerate iteration cycles and enhance SDV efficiency—a must in an era of constant software updates and evolving vehicle capabilities.
👥 People On the Move
Lucid Appoints New CFO as Gravity SUV Sales Gain Traction
Lucid Motors names Gagan Dhingra as CFO, signaling a financial strategy shift as Gravity SUV sales gain momentum.
Jeep® Appoints Bob Broderdorf as CEO
Stellantis promotes Bob Broderdorf to lead Jeep, following his role as Director of Dodge Brand Operations.
Continental Names Nino Romano as CTO of Automotive Group
Longtime Continental exec Nino Romano will oversee technological strategy, with a focus on autonomous driving, connectivity, and electrification.
📊 Market Insights & Trends
🔥 Staff Pick: Automotive Ecosystem Pivots Around Software-Defined Vehicles
Our staff pick and this week’s must-read is from Semiconductor Engineering which breaks down the SDV revolution, covering:
Zonal & centralized computing replacing ECU-heavy architectures
OTA updates & AI-powered automation reshaping vehicle design
Cybersecurity & supply chain shifts as SDVs become data centers on wheels
With 2025-2026 shaping up as a turning point, automakers must embrace software-first strategies to stay ahead.
📢 In Case You Missed It
Missed our latest deep dives? Catch up on our most recent SDV discussions that cover the important topic of standardization.
Signal Harmonization: The Secret to Smarter Vehicle Data
In our latest article, we dive into why standardizing vehicle signals is key to OTA efficiency, fleet analytics, and cross-vehicle compatibility. Without it, OEMs face costly fragmentation.
SOVD in the Fast Lane: How ASAM is Driving Standardized Diagnostics
In our latest podcast 🎙 ASAM’s Ben Engel & Ahmed Sadek discuss Service-Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (SOVD)—a modern, flexible approach to remote troubleshooting and software updates.
✅ That’s a Wrap!
That’s all for this week’s SDV Insider Dispatch! What trends are on your radar? Reply and let us know.
See you next week!
🚗 SDV Insider Staff