Michigan has always been at the center of automotive innovation, from the moving assembly line to the airbag to the backup camera. Michigan has a long history of turning bold ideas into technologies that change how the world moves. Today, a new chapter in that story is unfolding, and electric vehicles are the platform on which it’s being written.
A recent article from The Detroit News put it plainly in its headline: “AVs are usually EVs.” The piece digs into the deep engineering relationship between advanced vehicle technologies like autonomous driving and electric powertrains. This connection is one that Michigan’s auto industry has come to know well. Despite the political debate surrounding EVs, the engineering reality is clear: electrification isn’t just about reducing emissions. It’s about unlocking the next generation of what a car can do.
EVs Are More Than a Cleaner Car
When most people think about switching to an electric vehicle, the conversation tends to focus on what’s different about the day-to-day experience: no more gas station stops, lower fuel costs, fewer trips to the mechanic. Those benefits are real and meaningful. EVs are simpler machines with fewer moving parts, which translates to less maintenance and lower ownership costs over time. The ride is cleaner, quieter, and smoother. And with access to overnight charging, drivers wake up every morning to a full “tank”.
But the driving experience isn’t the only significant shift that comes with the transition to EVs. It’s also what their architecture makes possible. A gasoline-powered car is, at its core, a mechanical system built around an engine, a transmission, and a fuel tank. That architecture was designed for a specific purpose. And while we’ve come a long way from the early generations of mass-produced internal combustion engines, their fundamentals have remained the same. An electric vehicle is different from the ground up. It’s a software-defined platform. An EV is a sophisticated onboard computer that also happens to move you from point A to point B.
So, Why are AVs Usually EVs?
The Detroit News article makes clear that the connection between autonomous vehicles and electric powertrains isn’t a coincidence; it’s an engineering conclusion. Three reasons stand out.
First, safety demands precision, and electric motors deliver it. The instant, finely tuned torque control of an electric drivetrain provides the kind of split-second, precise maneuvering that autonomous systems require.
Second, advanced vehicle technologies are power-hungry. The sensors, processors, and computing systems that enable autonomous driving require substantial, consistent electrical power. EVs, built around large battery packs and robust electrical systems, are naturally equipped to provide it. Traditional gas-powered vehicles simply weren’t designed with that kind of electrical architecture in mind.
Third, simpler systems are smarter systems. The relative simplicity of an electric drivetrain compared to the intricate mechanics of internal combustion makes it far easier to integrate with the software layers that modern vehicle technology depends on. Less mechanical complexity means more room for the computing power that drives innovation.
EVs Are A Platform for Innovation
The path toward autonomous driving isn’t a single leap. It’s a progression of capabilities, each one building on the last. And that progression is already visible in the vehicles on the road today. Electric powertrains enable many of the driver-assist and other advanced vehicle technologies that have become commonplace in the automotive market.
Over-the-air software updates allow automakers to improve a vehicle after it’s been sold. This allows automakers to fix issues, add features, and refine performance in the same way a smartphone receives a software update. This capability, which is native to software-defined EVs, means the car you own today can be meaningfully better than the car you drove off the lot.
Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – like lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring – are increasingly standard features on all modern vehicles. These aren’t novelties. They’re the early layers of an autonomy stack, the building blocks of a safety architecture enabled by the increase of electric powertrains.
Level 2 and Level 3 autonomy systems capable of handling highway driving with limited or no human intervention are now arriving on production vehicles. These systems are often first deployed on electric vehicles before being adapted for internal-combustion platforms. This was the case with the Mach E, Ford’s first vehicle equipped with BlueCruise. This hands-free highway driving technology was later made available for the F-150 and other ICE vehicles. Ford has also stated that while the Level 3 autonomy technology in development will be applicable across powertrains, the first vehicles to receive it will be those on its upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle platform.
Each of these technologies is enabled, enhanced, or accelerated by the EV platform underneath it. But autonomy isn’t the only frontier being reshaped by the EV platform. The in-car experience itself is being reimagined. A recent Reuters report highlighted unique in-car experiences from Chinese EVs, with many features that are ahead of vehicles currently sold in the U.S. Vehicles equipped with technology features like large infotainment touchscreens, built-in refrigerators, exterior speakers, and flip-down entertainment displays for second-row passengers are becoming increasingly common in Chinese EVs.
Like autonomous capabilities, it’s the large battery pack and software-first architecture powering the vehicle that enables these new technology features. A gas-powered vehicle’s electrical system was not designed to support this kind of consumer technology load. But an EV’s onboard battery and software infrastructure can power an entirely new category of in-vehicle experience, turning the car from a transportation mechanism into something closer to a connected living space on wheels. Chinese automakers have been quick to capitalize on this, and U.S. consumers and automakers are taking notice.
Michigan Is in the Middle of This Story
The case for EVs as the foundation of automotive innovation isn’t driven by government mandates. It’s driven by the fact that the technology simply makes sense. When you look at where the industry is heading, electric vehicle automakers like Tesla and Rivian have redefined what a software-defined vehicle looks like. They’re pushing the boundaries of over-the-air updates, autonomous capability, and connected driving experiences. The rapidly emerging autonomous vehicle industry, from Waymo and Zoox to Tesla’s Cybercab and Ann Arbor’s own May Mobility, has overwhelmingly built on electric platforms. EVs provide precision, power, and mechanical simplicity. The qualities that make EVs better to own are the same qualities that make them the right foundation for the next generation of advanced vehicle technology.
Michigan’s automakers are already in this race. Ford has expanded hands-free highway driving to mainstream vehicles, and GM’s Super Cruise is expanding across its lineup. The state’s universities, startups, and supply chains are embedded in the development of these technologies. This is Michigan continuing its legacy of building the future of mobility. But that future belongs to those who stay in the game. Supporting EV adoption in Michigan isn’t about picking winners and losers. It’s about making sure our state remains the best place to design, build, and drive the next generation of automotive technology.