_PLM Test Automation in Automotive – 80% Time Reduction

About the company

A leading premium vehicle manufacturer, renowned for its advanced technologies, innovative approach to mobility, and strong global presence in the automotive industry. For years, the company has been investing in process digitalization, the development of driver assistance systems, and the integration of software into next-generation vehicles.

Background

The IT environment of this leading automotive manufacturer manages vast volumes of data across the entire product lifecycle (PLM – Product Lifecycle Management). Software plays a critical role in ensuring production continuity, driving innovation, and enabling efficient collaboration with the supplier network. For our client, automating tests within PLM systems was essential to maintaining production stability, accelerating time-to-market for new products, and minimizing the risk of costly errors. The quality of the PLM system directly impacts the company’s market position, which is why the client entrusted us with designing and implementing a comprehensive testing process.

Challenges and needs

The client’s overarching goal was to deliver products to market faster and more safely. What did this entail?

• They needed to minimize production errors, which could impact brand reputation and delay innovation. This required maximum test coverage and a high degree of automation.

• Another key need was to gain greater flexibility in introducing and testing new functionalities, and to accelerate the pace of implementing changes. It became clear that reducing the release cycle time was critical.

• To stay competitive, the client also needed faster issue detection combined with shorter turnaround times for test results.

• Finally, a crucial requirement was to ensure the high reliability of systems that are fundamental to operational continuity and production environment stability.

Solutions

Our task was to implement full test automation and deliver a solution that would easily integrate with the client’s existing tools and processes. We began with complete end-to-end (E2E) automation for the core functionalities of the software—an effort that launched a five-year (and ongoing) close collaboration with both business and development teams.

By applying the Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) approach, test scenarios were written in a way that was understandable to all stakeholders—both engineers and business representatives. As a result, the tests became not only a tool for quality verification but also a common reference point in discussions around system behavior and requirements.

Our strategy for high-quality test automation:

• Introduction of automated tests covering all key scenarios and processes in the system.
• Regular execution of tests on servers, enabling fast issue detection and consistent regression testing.
• Integration with CI/CD pipelines, allowing tests to run automatically with every deployment or on demand—providing real-time insight into software quality.
• Expanded test coverage across all critical areas of the software, ensuring system reliability in production.
• Use of Gherkin and Cucumber, which enabled the creation of test cases that were easily understood by non-technical stakeholders—improving communication and overall work quality.

Results

As a result, a modern, fully automated testing process was established—one that not only effectively protects the product from errors but also significantly boosts software development efficiency and reduces time-to-market for new changes.

Key benefits achieved by our client:

• Full PLM system test coverage – ensuring no part of the software is left untested.
• Time and resource savings – automation reduced testing time from 120 to 25 hours, cutting verification time by 80%.
• High software quality and stability – with a ~95% test success rate, the client minimized the risk of production errors that could affect delivery times or product quality.
• Faster business decision-making – instant access to test results and reports supports quicker risk assessment and planning.

In the long term, implementing test automation enabled the company to respond more quickly to market changes and adopt new technologies without fearing delays caused by software defects. It also improved collaboration with suppliers, who can now deliver components faster and more predictably—minimizing the risk of production disruptions.