What to expect at the Automotive Software Strategies Conference 2026

The 7ᵗʰ Automotive Software Strategies Conference 2026 will take place on 19–20 May in Munich, bringing together engineers, software architects, strategists and decision-makers from across the automotive ecosystem. The event focuses on the technological and organisational foundations of SDVs, addressing topics ranging from software architectures and operating systems to AI-supported development workflows and data-driven business models.

As vehicles increasingly evolve into software-centric platforms, the role of software is expanding far beyond traditional control functions. Software architectures, development processes and platform strategies are becoming key differentiators for OEMs and suppliers alike – making 2026 a turning point for software-defined vehicles.

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Automotive Software Strategies Europe

19-20 May, 2026 SZ Tower, Munich

Against this backdrop, the conference explores how companies can manage rising system complexity while accelerating development cycles and unlocking new sources of value through software.

Focus topics: Architectures, platforms and the SDV software factory

The programme addresses several closely interconnected focus areas, including software architectures and software factories, operating systems and middleware, requirements for the programming language Rust, simulation and virtualisation environments, AI-driven productivity in software development, data usage and data management, as well as emerging software-based business models.

The agenda reflects a growing recognition that automotive software development can no longer be treated as a collection of isolated functions. Instead, software platforms must be engineered as integrated systems spanning multiple vehicle domains, development environments and organisational structures.

From ADAS software factories to centralised SDV architectures

A strong OEM presence underscores the strategic relevance of the conference. In the opening keynote, Karsten Hoffmeister, Chief Engineer for Assisted and Automated Driving Software at Jaguar Land Rover, presents “The JLR ADAS Software Factory at Scale”. His talk explores why software-driven vehicles are less a deliberate strategy than a consequence of the rapidly increasing complexity of modern vehicle systems.

Architectural questions also take centre stage in the presentation by Frederic Ameye, Principal SDV Architect at Renesas. In “Centralized Architectures in SDVs: From Hype to Reality”, he examines lessons learned from the transition towards software-defined vehicle platforms and discusses how next-generation system-on-chips can accelerate development while enabling more developer-centric and open software ecosystems.

Building software-defined organisations and platforms

The transition to software-defined vehicles does not only require new architectures, but also fundamental organisational changes. Markus Rettstatt, Vice President Software Defined Car at Mercedes-Benz, addresses this challenge in his keynote “Building a Software-defined Company”. His presentation explores how strategic portfolio decisions can be linked directly to the capabilities required within development teams, helping organisations identify gaps in skills, tooling or integration capacity before they become bottlenecks.

From an ecosystem perspective, Joachim Langenwalter, Spokesperson of AUTOSAR at TMT CoPilots, outlines the vision of a global software platform for SDVs. His presentation examines how cross-domain software architectures can connect powertrain, chassis, body electronics, ADAS and cockpit systems while operating within a growing open ecosystem that includes initiatives such as Eclipse SDV, SOAFEE, COVESA and S-CORE.

Open-source software is also a central topic for Dr. Martin Wagner, Head of Software Platform Strategy, Standardisation and Open Source at BMW. In his keynote on open-source development for safety-critical series projects, he discusses the rationale behind increasing industry-wide reuse of non-differentiating software and explains the establishment of the S-CORE project within the Eclipse SDV initiative.

“AI model inputs can be tagged to VSS signal names upfront”

Scaling edge AI across vehicle platforms remains a complex challenge. From compute constraints and legacy architectures to abstraction and toolchains, Steve Stoddard, Principal Product Manager AI at Sonatus, explains where scalability breaks down and what OEMs must prioritise next.

Benjamin Müller

The practical implementation of these ideas is explored by Paula Herzog, Head of Product Program Management at Qorix. Her presentation examines how Eclipse S-CORE can be distributed and industrialised for safety-critical and real-time embedded systems, highlighting the role of middleware distributors in scaling open platforms across multiple OEM programmes.

Rust, open source and the future of safety-critical automotive software

Programming languages and development methodologies are another major focus of the conference. Florian Gilcher, Managing Director of Ferrous Systems, discusses the role of Rust in safety-critical automotive applications in his presentation “The Why and How of Safety-Qualified Open Source with Rust”. His talk examines how open-source development and modern programming languages can improve reliability and security in complex embedded systems.

Simulation and virtualisation technologies also play an increasingly important role in modern vehicle development. Thomas Schneid, Head of Software, Partnership and Ecosystem Management at Infineon Technologies, explores how RISC-V architectures and digital customer journeys can support the development of software-defined vehicles.

Virtual development environments are further addressed in the keynote “Driver in the Loop” by Dr. Chantal Himmels, Specialist Driving Simulation and Virtualization at BMW Group, together with Robert Siwy, Software Manager at BMW. Their presentation highlights how driving simulators can be integrated into virtual development workflows to test the software experience from the driver’s perspective.

AI-driven development and intelligent engineering workflows

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a central enabler for automotive software engineering. Saskia Kohlhaas, CIO and CDO at IAV, explores this transformation in her presentation “From IT to AI – At Scale: An Approach for AI-Infused Engineering”, describing how digital platforms can evolve into intelligent value chains for software-defined vehicles.

Amir Namazi, Solution Manager Virtualization, AI and Cloud at AUMOVIO, discusses how digital twins and AI agents can reshape automotive software development. His presentation examines how domain-specific AI agents and cloud-scale virtualisation of multi-ECU networks can accelerate development cycles from requirements engineering to final software release.

“AI makes diligence affordable”

AI-driven tools are reshaping embedded automotive development – not by replacing engineers, but by accelerating testing, validation and review workflows. Felix Martin, Research Engineer at Tasking, explains where AI already adds value and where safety-critical limits remain.

Benjamin Müller

AI, DevOps and new development paradigms

The second day of the conference continues the discussion on AI-driven engineering approaches. Dr. Alois Danninger, Global Head of E/E, Software and Controls at AVL List, presents how artificial intelligence and generative AI can bridge the gap between traditional V-model development and modern DevOps workflows for embedded automotive software.

A complementary perspective comes from Georg Doll, CTO Automotive and Mobility at Microsoft. In his talk “From Vibe Coding to Spec-Driven Development – How AI Agents Transform Automotive Software Engineering”, he examines why informal AI-assisted coding approaches cannot scale for safety-critical automotive systems and introduces spec-driven development methods that translate AUTOSAR specifications directly into verified code using AI agents.

Data platforms and software as a business model

Data strategies and software-driven business models are another central theme of the conference. Daniel Elhs, Business Director SDV at Valtech Mobility, together with Florian Haubner, Industry Architect Lead Automotive at Google Cloud, present the next generation of connected vehicle platforms built on Google Cloud infrastructure. Their session explores how generative AI and deep cloud integration are reshaping connected vehicle services from both driver and passenger perspectives.

From a regulatory and business standpoint, Titus Aust, Senior Manager at Deloitte, examines the implications of the EU Data Act in his presentation “Share, Gain, and Monetize Data”. His talk outlines how companies can navigate regulatory requirements while developing new data-based revenue streams.

Augustin Friedel, Associated Partner at MHP, expands on this perspective by analysing emerging revenue and profit pools within the SDV technology stack for OEMs and suppliers.

These topics converge in a panel discussion on “Software as a Business Model and Open Source”, featuring Markus Rettstatt (Mercedes-Benz), Soufiane Kolodziej (Schaeffler), Christof Horn (Accenture), Joachim Langenwalter (AUTOSAR), Augustin Friedel (MHP) and Sebastian Homm (Wayve).

Open platforms and hardware-agnostic software architectures

The programme concludes with several sessions focusing on open platforms and scalable software architectures. Arnaud van den Bosche, Director Business Development at Green Hills Software, examines how open-source real-time operating systems can meet the increasing safety and certification requirements of modern automotive platforms.

Dr. Peter Biermann, Vice President Operations at Bertrandt, and Christian John, President of Tier IV North America, present approaches for developing open-source ADAS and autonomous driving solutions based on AI-driven end-to-end architectures.

From a system integration perspective, Soufiane Kolodziej, Technical Project Leader at Schaeffler, introduces the company’s SDV system design and development approach for motion control, highlighting model-based engineering and cloud-based development workflows.

Further platform perspectives come from Isaac Trefz, Senior Product Manager at Elektrobit, who discusses how Linux-based platforms can enable open software-defined vehicle ecosystems while maintaining safety and security requirements.

“The system has to be accurate and hyper-continuously available”

As vehicles become increasingly software-defined and automated functions demand continuous reliability, localisation systems face new expectations for resilience and continuity. In this interview, Brett Harrison, Co-Founder and President of Tern, explains why legacy positioning concepts are no longer sufficient.

Benjamin Müller

Holger Kraft, Vice President Software Development Chassis Solutions at ZF Group, concludes the programme with a presentation on hardware-agnostic software architectures for modern by-wire systems. His talk explores how decoupling software from specific hardware platforms can enable scalable and flexible architectures for future vehicle systems.

By bringing together perspectives from OEMs, semiconductor companies, software providers and engineering specialists, the Automotive Software Strategies Conference highlights the rapid transformation of automotive development. As vehicles increasingly evolve into software-defined platforms, the event underscores how architectures, development methodologies and data strategies are converging to define the next generation of mobility.