Delphi Automotive is getting a makeover ahead of an era when technology for autonomous vehicles is expected to be a big chunk of the supplier?s business.
On Wednesday morning, the company unveiled its new name?Aptiv?for its business centered around next-generation cars that are steeped in software. Its powertrain division, which is being spun off into its own independent company, will be known as Delphi Technologies. The company made the announcement in Boston during a meeting with investors, who still need to approve the names, and a further rollout is expected at the CES technology show in January.

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?We need to provide much greater levels of value

at much deeper levels.?

? Glen DeVos, Delphi

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It?s a makeover driven by both Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Delphi has transformed itself in recent years to compete in the development of autonomous vehicles and is currently running pilot projects with self-driving taxis in Singapore and Boston. As it continues to focus on self-driving systems and redesigning the electronic architecture of vehicles to support self-driving software, it made sense to split that business from its traditional powertrain group, said Glen DeVos, chief technology officer at the newly named Aptiv. ?When you think of the investor community, these are two different types of investors, and people focused on powertrain are diverging from software investors,? he said.

Aptiv sounds like a contrived name workshopped to death by branding executives i...