When GM announced its new fourth-generation EV platform on Wednesday, what the automaker didn’t share was almost as notable as what it did.

The new EV platform, part of a series of technology-focused announced during its annual GM Forward event in New York, didn’t talk about suspension geometries, dash-to-axle ratios, and torsional rigidity, all nerdy automotive terms that translate to how people will experience a car. Is it supple or sporty? Does it have a refined stance? When it hits a pothole, does it feel like a bank vault or a paper plate?

Instead, GM’s announcement centered on novel battery chemistries, revamped electric motors, and an entirely new central computing platform and electrical architecture that will connect every system in the car, including acceleration and power, steering, braking, and active safety features as well as software. Lots and lots of software.

“We think vehicles can become a more capable and helpful part of everyday life if we make them spaces that understand context, reduce friction, and give people back moments that would otherwise be consumed by the demands of the road,” Sterling Anderson, executive vice president, global product, and chief product officer at GM, told TechCrunch in a recent interview.

That sure doesn’t sound like a traditional automaker’s pitch. Then again, since the arrival of Tesla, Rivian, and Chinese automakers, the industry hasn’t been the same. Ride and handling still matter, but they’re table stakes. What sets vehicles apart today is largely defined by software.

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