The Software Solution Automakers Have Been Searching For Might Finally Be Here
QNX and Vector’s collaboration promises to streamline the complex and costly software foundations underpinning the next generation of vehicles.
By Tim Stevens | Written on December 12, 2025
We are currently navigating one of the most transformative eras in automotive history. This isn’t solely due to the shift toward electrification, which is certainly causing its own share of industry upheaval. The real game-changer is the rapid evolution toward the software-defined vehicle, or SDV.
What sounds like a simple transition from discrete hardware components to over-the-air (OTA) updatable algorithms has evolved into a persistent source of challenges for some of the automotive industry’s largest players. The increasing demand for continuously enhanced functionality must now be delivered through a tangled web of regulations and requirements. This creates a nearly untenable situation where future vehicles may offer fewer features rather than more.
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Fortunately, a potential resolution is on the horizon. QNX, a leader in hardware virtualization, and Vector, a specialist in middleware, have joined forces to create what they call the Foundational Vehicle Software Platform. If this platform lives up to its promises, it could eliminate many of the most complex and demanding aspects of automotive software development.
The Shift Toward Software-Defined Vehicles
The term “software-defined vehicle” is not entirely new. However, as this concept has moved to the forefront of vehicle design, its meaning has been refined.
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“It’s a term that’s been around for about seven or eight years,” stated John Wall, president of QNX. “I think in the last few years, it’s really come to mean something very specific. For me, it really signifies that the vehicle is becoming increasingly reliant on software for its features.”
In some organizations, the transition to SDVs has been presented as a kind of panacea for all development woes, promising a significant reduction and simplification of in-car hardware—while simultaneously providing a platform for vehicles that can maintain relevance in the market for longer periods.
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“I believe one of the primary drivers for SDV adoption in traditional car companies is the ability to continue enhancing the vehicle over time, to introduce new features, and to potentially monetize those new features within the vehicle,” Wall explained.
However, behind these promising claims lies a troubling reality that has left the software divisions of some manufacturers in disarray.
The Organizational Overhaul That Automakers Didn’t Anticipate
Achieving new levels of software sophistication doesn’t just require more advanced code. For some legacy automakers, it necessitates a complete organizational restructuring.
“At the moment, they are struggling, especially with their development processes,” noted Matthias Traub, a member of the board of directors and CTO at Vector. “Also from a cultural perspective. They are coming from a clear waterfall-based process with very defined roles.”
The waterfall approach is a traditional software development methodology characterized by sequential phases, where each stage must be completed before the next can begin. This structured model is ill-suited for the increasingly dynamic automotive software landscape.
“Now, it’s time to move toward a true DevOps approach,” Traub continued. “So you have smaller teams that are responsible for the entire chain—design, build, software development, testing, and so on.”
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QNX’s Wall pointed out that many companies mistakenly believe they must develop every line of code in-house. “I think that’s where a lot of them have stumbled,” he said.
Feeling the pressure to own the entire software stack means developers are writing code for extremely basic functions, such as securely transmitting data over the car’s modem or rendering pixels on the vehicle’s displays. Companies whose core competency is building cars have instead found themselves writing layer upon layer of software that their customers will never see.
“Their energy should be focused on features that delight their customers, not on operating systems and networking stacks,” Wall asserted.
If an ever-growing software stack wasn’t concerning enough, the sheer scope of modern software regulatory frameworks presents a formidable challenge. The list of considerations for developers continues to expand.
“Things like the software bill of materials, the provenance of where your software came from, what’s happening in the U.S., no Chinese code,” Wall listed. “There are a lot of things to consider. It’s a really dynamic situation.”
A New Platform Emerges
Evolving regulations not only create a moving target for initial compliance but also necessitate ongoing updates and responsiveness to security vulnerabilities.
“The industry is at a tipping point where software complexity threatens to outpace innovation,” Traub warned. If this trend continues, Traub fears that next-generation cars might actually offer fewer features than those available today.
Complex regulatory environments are an area where QNX has repeatedly demonstrated expertise. The company’s foundational operating system is utilized in applications ranging from nuclear power plants to military aircraft.
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“A lot of the security requirements came from the medical field, and we saw them a little bit earlier, based on the Biden administration, with some of the things they put in place,” Wall noted.
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The Foundational Vehicle Software Platform is built upon this extensive expertise. It comprises a suite of interfaces and tools from QNX and Vector designed to streamline modern automotive software development. The platform leverages both companies’ long history of abstracting and simplifying the intricate aspects of integrated systems development. In the automotive context, this translates to providing secure, reliable, and certifiable hardware integration.
“We’re trying to remove a lot of those difficult things to deal with by bringing them together and providing one source of truth for the platform,” Wall explained.
QNX and Vector have collaborated on various projects for years but have worked closely together for the past 18 months to develop this new platform. Although still an evolving project, it is already demonstrating significant promise in terms of simplification and performance.
Traub reported that solutions running on the platform have achieved up to a 50 percent reduction in CPU load compared to custom-written code. Latency—the delay between a system request and the response—was reduced by 85 percent, and overall data transmission rates more than doubled.
“And we are just at the beginning,” Traub remarked. “Eighteen months is not so long, and I’m sure at the end there will be much more acceleration available.”
When software operates more efficiently, it can run faster on less complex hardware, potentially reducing vehicle manufacturing costs.
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Mercedes Benz Vision AVTR Concept 47
A Promising Path Forward, but Still Early Days
While QNX and Vector’s Foundational Vehicle Software Platform is still in development, it is already gaining traction by addressing many of the modern software industry’s pain points.
“It’s really amazing to see how many companies are asking us about our solution,” Traub observed. “Before, we only had a handful of names on our list. Now, it’s two handfuls or more.”
The diversity of the company’s clientele will continue to ensure the platform meets the right requirements.
“Because Vector and QNX work with so many customers, virtually every customer in the world, we get a good view of a roadmap,” Wall said. “We get a good view of what the car companies want.”
When can we expect to see these resulting products on the road? The timeline may be closer than anticipated. “If you had asked me at the beginning of this project, I would have said 2029, 2030,” Wall recalled. “But we’ve seen things accelerate recently, so I think it could be sooner than that.”
