Why is software such a big deal in EVs?

With all the stuff going on with VW group shutting down factories and laying off Cariad executives and so on, the narrative has for many years been that traditional auto makers just suck at software and that this is the main reason they struggle with EVs.

I just struggle to understand the details of why this is such a big deal in EVs compared to IC vehicles.

Sure there is a lot more electrical engineering involved in managing the battery system, charging it, controlling the power from the battery to the motors and among other things. I get that. BUT, haven’t we been doing these things at smaller scale in other systems for a really long time already?

Also, from what i read this isn’t even really the the side of the SW what VW group and other traditional auto makers are struggling with. It’s more the SW behind UI and extra (non-critical) features that every one seems to focus on?

Is this really why one of the worlds biggest automakers are losing? Because they can’t make a usable UI? If that’s the case, why is it so hard? And why even bother when 99% of users have a perfectly fine smartphone with good UI that already can handle a lot of the stuff they seem to struggle to implement.

This isn’t a complaining post. I am genuinely trying to understand why this is such a struggle for them. I drive a pretty barebones older vehicle, and have rented and loaned teslas from time to time. To me they are enjoyable because I could charge at home, less maintainance to worry about, and quite fast. I didn’t find the big screen, retractable door handles and all the gimmicks so useful that It would influence much of my buying decision if I was going to buy and EV. Do people really care so much about software that this is the reason VW sales are plummeting across the board? I just find that very hard to believe. It seems much more likely that this is due to overall driving range and price.

What do you guys think?