Towards an open European software-defined vehicle platform
In the context of the European Chips Act, the European Commission is considering complementary but distinct initiatives to reinforce EU sovereignty and leadership in the automotive value chain on the vehicle of the future, addressing, on the one hand, an open automotive hardware platform, and on the other hand, an open software-defined vehicle ecosystem driven by European actors.
On 29 November 2022 and 7 March 2023, DG CONNECT hosted workshops on software-defined vehicles with key players from the EU automotive industry to align on key challenges, discuss how the industry could collaborate on non-differentiating, pre-competitive software development, and how such an initiative could be supported and driven at the European level. The industry associations VDA, PFA, and ANFIA contributed to their organisation and McKinsey & Company supported their preparation and moderation.
Based on the discussions during the workshops and on subsequent input from participants, a Concept Paper was prepared summarising the key challenges, potential scope and form of a collaboration, and role that the European Commission could play to support it. It shows the progress made towards a convergence of views and highlights the areas where further discussions are required. It thus does not necessarily reflect the views of all workshop participants nor of the European Commission.
The Concept Paper shows that a joint effort could support the development of standardised software building blocks and interfaces in the vehicle and at its edge, complemented by software development and validation toolsets. Key success factors are a strong open-source strategy, reference implementations and supporting wide and rapid adoption. The initiative could reinforce the coordination between existing alliances by orchestrating distributed developments. Close links must be ensured with any EU initiative on an open automotive hardware platform. The European Commission could act as a neutral convener and support joint efforts with dedicated EU funding.
The challenge of software-defined vehicles
As vehicles become autonomous, electric, connected and service-orientated, software and digital hardware are playing an increasingly important role in managing their operations and enabling new features. In future “software-defined vehicles" the value of software and electronic hardware will surpass the mechanical parts. The software platform (e.g. operating systems, middleware, etc.) between hardware and applications, including the integration with the cloud, plays a key role in this new paradigm.
These transformations are putting the leadership and competitiveness of the European automotive industry at risk. The next few years are critical to close the gap with new non-EU OEMs and tech companies. Software complexity is rising sharply, driven by more complex functionalities and redundant efforts to adapt to different platforms. The whole industry is facing a talent shortage. So far, EU companies have focused on developing their own technology platforms, impeding efficiencies when such investments replicate efforts on elements that are not differentiating and visible to the customer. A rising number of partnerships and alliances however shows a growing openness to join forces.
Next steps
Drawing from the conclusions of the 29 November workshop and follow-up consultations, a Focus Topic on software-defined vehicle was proposed, approved and launched under the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking to support first related actions. A call for two first actions closed on 3 May 2023. Discussions on the initiative will continue in the coming months and progress will be reflected in updates of the Concept Paper.