Padmasree Warrior, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent female executives, has signed on to run the US arm of Chinese electric car start-up NextEV, in the latest sign of the auto industry’s surging demand for software talent.

硅谷知名女性高管伍丝丽(Padmasree Warrior)已签约出任中国电动汽车创业型企业蔚来汽车(NextEV)美国分部的负责人。这件事再度凸显出，汽车业对软件人才的需求日益高涨。

The former head of technology and strategy at Cisco Systems said she planned to expand a small research and development centre in Silicon Valley to 400 people by the end of next year.

伍丝丽曾任思科(Cisco Systems)技术与战略主管。她表示，自己计划在明年年底前将位于硅谷的一座小型研发中心的人手扩大到400人。

Software has become a key battleground in the auto industry as carmakers race to develop autonomous vehicles, as well as more advanced information systems in cars and ways to reach customers online.

随着汽车制造商竞相开发自动驾驶汽车、更先进的车载信息系统以及与客户建立在线连接的方式，软件已成为汽车业的关键战场。

NextEV, whose backers include prominent Chinese and US investment firms Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital, plans to launch a high-performance “supercar” by the end of 2016.

蔚来汽车计划不晚于2016年年底推出高性能的“超级跑车”(supercar)。该公司背后的投资方包括中美两国的知名投资机构高瓴资本(Hillhouse Capital)和红杉资本(Sequoia Capital)。

Like electric car pioneer Tesla Motors, it aims to use technology honed in a high-end vehicle to move into the mass market, with a passenger car slated for launch first in China at an unspecified date.

像电动汽车先驱特斯拉(Tesla Motors)一样，蔚来汽车的目标也是利用高端汽车上磨练出的技术来进军大众市场。蔚来汽车将首先在中国发布一款乘用车，但发布日期不详。

Ms Warrior said software would play an important part in disrupting the existing auto industry. “There’s an opportunity to rethink not just the business model, but also the value chain in owning a car,” she said.

伍丝丽表示，软件将在颠覆现有汽车行业的过程中发挥重要作用。她说：“现在是个机会，我们不仅应重新思考商业模式，还应重新思考‘拥有一辆汽车的’价值链。”

NextEV is looking at ways of using the mobile internet to “improve the experience of owning an automobile” she added, without giving any more details. Current car owners were frustrated by experiences like taking their vehicle to a dealer for an oil change and their inability to deal directly with the manufacturer, she said.

伍丝丽还说，蔚来汽车正在想方设法利用移动互联网来“改善‘拥有一辆汽车的’体验”，但她没有透露更多细节。她表示，目前的种种体验让车主们感到沮丧，比如把自己的车送到经销商那里更换润滑油，以及无法与制造商直接打交道等等。