The automotive production of the future is facing a profound change: New innovative production methods such as "Giga-Casting" and "Unboxed" mark a paradigm shift and set completely new standards in terms of efficiency, use of resources and sustainability. By radically simplifying and integrating production steps, such approaches could not only significantly reduce manufacturing costs and complexity from 2035+, but also make a significant contribution to reducing the ecological footprint of the automotive industry.

However, these technological advances also bring with them a fundamental change in the business model: instead of the previous model change cycles, which are strongly focused on new car production and leaps in innovation, the future will be characterized by more flexible upgrade cycles. This new concept makes it possible to continuously improve existing vehicles through software and hardware upgrades throughout their entire life cycle. This saves resources, increases the longevity of the vehicles and meets customer needs more dynamically.

The wiring harness plays a key role in this change. As a critical component of modern vehicles that enables electrification, networking and autonomous driving, it must meet the new requirements for modularity.

This lecture by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Schönmann, Technical University of Ingolstadt, on January 28, 2025 as part of the trend outlook gives a comprehensive insight into the technological developments and trends in automobile manufacturing with the corresponding implications for on-board networks. It highlights how these technological innovations not only contribute to increased efficiency and sustainability, but also to the strategic transformation of the entire automotive industry.