CAN PORSCHE NOT MAKE THE TAYCAN UPDATE OVER THE AIR ?

The Taycan drives electrically, but it is not a Tesla

Customers are now realising this with the first software updates

- they have to go to the workshop for this https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/tech-zukunft/porsche-taycan-software-update-nicht-over-the-air-wie-tesla/

Over-the-air updates have become a kind of indicator of how modern a car is

In addition to the electric drive, the ability to update contributes a lot to Tesla's image as the most innovative car manufacturer

Since September 2017 at the latest, when the US manufacturer provided many of its US customers with more battery range to escape from Hurricane Irma in a media-effective way

They simply provided an Over The Air OTA software update via the data network like a mobile phone

When the operating system was updated, the message was clear :

Teslas not only have a locally emission-free drive, but unlike other cars are software-centric electronic products

Conventional cars, on the other hand, looked like comparatively simply knitted analogue hardware, which once installed ages faster than spring fashion

The facelifts of the car models cannot keep up with the dynamics of software development

And the owners of the pre-facelift models are left out in the cold; at best they are left with the higher loss of value because their vehicle is no longer up to date

This is different with mobile phones

There are constantly new apps, new possibilities, new updates - they only stand out as old when the hardware is no longer powerful enough for new software

Or they become defective because the manufacturer gives them less durability so that he can sell new devices at all

Over-The-Air-Updates alone are not the revolution

The Tesla Model S came to Europe in 2013 and since then only a few details have been changed on the outside

Internally, however, the software has changed constantly

The longing of the Tesla disciples for external modifications is limited

Behind the OTA update is the revolutionary new electronic architecture with one or a few central computers and an operating system similar to that of an electronic product

The established car manufacturers have evolutionarily developed a system over the years with some of them using over 100 decentralised small computers as control units, an approach which has long ago reached its limits

In addition, most control units come from suppliers with their own software, for which the car manufacturers even have to pay licence fees

And yet all control units must be networked with each other, able to communicate with each other in a network

This Babylonian software jumble is generally difficult to update, let alone over the air

And the car manufacturer does not even know the source code of each individual control unit

And not all of these mini-computers have contact with the SIM card in the car

However, because OTA updates have become synonymous with progressiveness and save customers from having to spend time in the workshop, car manufacturers are trying to make their decentralised electronic architecture fit for the purpose

But building a new electronic architecture for all models of a car manufacturer who makes several million vehicles a year is a mammoth task

- and it has not been part of the core business of the manufacturers

VW is currently trying it for the first time with ID.3, with the known problems, and is setting up its own company within the group for this purpose

The VW brand Porsche developed its first electric car still with decentralised electronics architecture, but only promised partial OTA capability

The Taycan can perform OTA updates - but not for everything

And for the first software update of the Taycan, customers received mail in the same way - a pretty old-fashioned letter informs them what will be improved on their vehicle - when they go to the workshop of an authorised dealer

On the part of the Tesla community, this backwardness is a source of amusement

But to give credit where credit is due, it must be said that Porsche has promised the Taycan to be an electric sports car with reproducible excellent driving performance

However, Porsche did not promise a fully OTA-updatable car

OTA also works without a central computer structure

This is because not all control units are OTA-compatible

Porsche is currently endeavouring to steadily increase their number

But since not all of them are from Porsche and the supplied ones are not completely accessible to the manufacturer, it may take a little longer than the Taycan needs to accelerate to 200 km/h ten times in a row and brake to zero again for the reasons described above

So the workshop letter is not a surprising sensation but rather a sign of how the car manufacturers could not start their product development with a white sheet like Tesla and are now struggling to catch up in terms of electronics and software

With this letter Porsche calls Taycan customers to the workshop for software updates

However, the reason given in the letter for why the update does not work OTA is not very convincing - Porsche is pushing the data volume forward

“The OTA system is already being used for updates of a small scope”

However, with compound updates such as this one such a large amount of data is transferred that a smooth update in the Porsche centre is ensured with a high-speed line

“Afterwards, the function of all control units is verified with a test," says the letter, which is now circulating on social media channels

At least the next sentence is correct - in a way

“With a technology carrier like the Taycan, the complexity of the systems is on a very high level, so we decided to take this approach"

With regard to the electronic architecture, Porsche's e-car is not a technology carrier

- the complexity is rather due to the multitude of control units

There is a lot of bugfixing in the first offline update of the Taycan

The updates themselves are quite noteworthy

They are intended to improve charging at home, prevent premature termination, optimise the calculation of battery capacity and the lift function of the chassis

Thus :

- the set vehicle level should no longer be lost when restarting

- like the seat setting of the guest profile

- the ESP in Porsche PSM should work better when driving downhill or in stop-and-go operation

- failures of the Park Distance Control, which apparently occurred sporadically up to now, should be history after the update

- just like sporadically occurring displays of "various messages" of the instrument cluster on the 16.8-inch curved display

At least that sounds very much like bugfixing as you know it from modern apps - in the past, cars with such errors might not have gotten to the customer at all - so the Taycan seems very advanced

The letter to the Taycan drivers also shows how far the digital road still lies ahead for the classic car manufacturer !