Software-defined vehicle

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New mobility is built on software

The era of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) has arrived. Software is becoming the driving force in automotive innovation, placing user experience at the forefront. SDVs offer personalized features ranging from enhanced infotainment and driver-assistance systems to intelligent energy management. Over-the-air (OTA) updates provide continuous upgrades and unlock new business models beyond traditional vehicle sales.

The illustration shows a futuristic software-defined vehicle in vibrant colors surrounded by dynamic digital elements, representing speed, data flow, and software integration.

For OEMs and suppliers, this transition means moving from hardware with embedded software to software-defined hardware and services. High-performance computing enables centralized zonal E/E architectures, consolidating in-vehicle intelligence. Decoupling hardware and software, combined with AI, empowers cross-domain functionalities, requiring sophisticated software elements like operating systems and advanced vehicle software platforms for seamless integration.

At ETAS, we pave the way for you. With our vehicle software platform suite, development tools, and cybersecurity and diagnostic solutions for the software-defined vehicle.

Mobility is changing, and software is king

The transition to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) enables car manufacturers to speed up innovation and generate recurring revenue through feature updates and digital services. However, realizing this potential requires addressing several key success factors.

Better user experience

While OTA updates and cloud-based functions enhance the value proposition of SDVs for customers, they present a significant challenge for OEMs who must manage continuous software development, deployment, and security throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle. This necessitates new expertise, infrastructure, and business models to support ongoing software and service delivery.

Shorter time-to-market

Faster rollouts of new features and quicker user feedback allow for faster iterations and increased customer satisfaction. However, achieving this requires close collaboration with suppliers, streamlined processes, and a robust feedback loop. Successfully integrating this rapid development cycle with the long-term reliability and safety requirements is crucial.

Cost reduction & standardization

While cost savings and increased sustainability are advantages of standardized interfaces and pre-configured components, OEMs face the challenge of balancing standardization with differentiation and innovation. It is also crucial to manage the complex integration of multi-sourced components while ensuring performance and reliability.

Empowering tomorrow‘s automotive software

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To put the vision of the fully programmable, software-defined vehicle into practice and support automakers in software-centric function development, ETAS offers a highly integrated end-to-end solution and tooling ecosystem that enables fast, data-driven development as well as safe and secure operation of software.

"Smartphone on wheels? I wish it were that simple! Our challenge is far more complex. Or have you ever seen a smartphone maker still supporting a 20-year-old device?"

Dr. Thomas Irawan, President and Chairman of the ETAS Board of Management

All you need: our solutions for the software-defined vehicle

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Vehicle Software Platform Suite

The Vehicle Software Platform Suite from ETAS enables you to rapidly develop and deploy new applications for your software-defined vehicle. The Vehicle Software Platform Suite simplifies software development, integration, and updates across different vehicle zones, reducing costs and enabling faster innovation cycles.

Compute basic software building blocks (AUTOSAR Adaptive and beyond) for mixed criticality applications
Microcontroller platform solution (AUTOSAR Classic) for embedded real-time and safety applications
ADAS/AD deterministic middleware solution
Edge middleware solution for fast and cost-effective feature deployment

Vehicle Software Platform Suite

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Cybersecurity for the SDV

The software-defined vehicle presents new security challenges, including an increased attack surface, inherent software complexity, and a rapidly evolving threat landscape. ETAS offers comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that protect SDVs against cyberattacks and unauthorized access throughout their entire lifecycle.

Automotive cross-domain security framework including ESCRYPT Vehicle Computer Security Suite
Threat analysis and risk assessment (TARA), vulnerability management, and security testing
Cybersecurity management systems to meet cybersecurity regulations and standards
Continuous risk management through the ESCRYPT Intrusion detection and prevention solution (IDPS)

ESCRYPT Vehicle Computer Security Suite

The picture shows a stylized graphic featuring a teal car angled towards the viewer against a purple backdrop. Various icons, possibly representing software applications or documents, float around the car.

Cloud-based diagnostic solutions

Software-defined vehicles create new demands and opportunities for vehicle diagnostics. Enhanced connectivity and onboard computing power enable health monitoring during operation, emphasizing information distribution and interpretation while shifting processes to the cloud. ETAS offers

A cross lifecycle diagnostic platform featuring cloud-based vehicle monitoring, on-demand diagnostics, software updates, and predictive failure probability analysis.
Service-Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (SOVD) to enable fast, remote diagnostics, optimize repair processes, and unlock new service opportunities.

Service-Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (SOVD)

The image shows four people pose for a photo at the Automobil Elektronik Kongress, held June 24 and 25, 2021. The backdrop displays the event name and dates. The individuals wear conference badges.

ETAS founding member of Eclipse S-CORE open-source initiative

ETAS signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and joined Eclipse S-CORE as a founding member, supporting an open-source automotive software ecosystem. This initiative addresses the need for faster innovation cycles and cost reduction while maintaining safety and security in the face of growing software complexity. Through collaboration on a shared, open software ecosystem based on a secure core stack, leading automotive companies intend to streamline development and reduce time-to-market.

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White paper: Ensuring security in next-gen vehicle computers

With the advent of the SDV, the need to balance security with the speed of innovation becomes apparent in the vehicle computer, the SDV's main component. In our white paper, we explain how an "automotive cross-domain security framework" can establish a zero trust paradigm for fully secure vehicle computers of the future.

Download white paper

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White paper: SDVs with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

This white paper explores time-sensitive networking (TSN) for in-vehicle Ethernet. It outlines a quality of service (QoS) framework and software-defined vehicle (SDV) use cases across DevOps lifecycles. Dedicated control is required for managing dynamic in-vehicle communication, both offboard and onboard. The Software-Defined Networking (SDN) approach could meet these architectural requirements.

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The evolution of SDVs: open-source software & industry transformation

Two men discussing the topic Embracing Open Source for SDV at SIACESA 2025

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Detlef Zerfowski, Head of Engineering Excellence at ETAS, provides insight into the transformation of automotive software stacks. As the industry shifts from OEM-driven specifications to open source, ETAS is actively navigating this transformation with key innovations such as the deterministic vehicle software platform solution.

How to speed up software-defined vehicle development today!

The picture shows a DevOps cycle with a screen on the left side depicting a wireframe vehicle, a keyboard, and a mouse. On the right-hand side of the DevOps cycle is a futuristic vehicle representing the software-defined vehicle.

You need to shift your software development into higher gears to make the SDV a reality. Software delivery performance is key to succeed in the race for future mobility. It allows you to integrate innovation faster and keeps vehicles competitive and up to date. With the solutions in our SDV portfolio, you can accelerate your software development using four key methods:

ECU virtualization
Containerization
Cloud-based development toolchains
Abstraction of hardware and underlying software layers

300 to 500 million

A vehicle is expected to require 300 to 500 million lines of software code in 2030.

Code first: ETAS in the Eclipse “Software-Defined Vehicle Working Group”

ETAS is a founding member of the "Software-Defined Vehicle Working Group" of the Eclipse Foundation, one of the world's largest open-source communities. Using a “code first” approach, the goal is to build one of the automotive industry’s first ever software stacks, along with associated development tools, for the core functions of a software-defined vehicle. These solutions will be made available to any company that wishes to use them for their own vehicle development.

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