“S-CORE is the blueprint”
VDA and Eclipse Foundation expand SDV software ecosystem
The ecosystem now brings together companies from across the automotive value chain, including vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and technology providers from the software, semiconductor and cloud sectors.
Hella
The Eclipse Foundation and Germany’s automotive industry association VDA are significantly expanding their open-source ecosystem for SDVs. Their S-CORE initiative aims to create a shared software foundation that reduces development effort and shortens time to market.
The Eclipse Foundation and the German Association of the
Automotive Industry (VDA) are accelerating the build-up of an open software
ecosystem for software-defined vehicles. Eleven
renowned OEMs and suppliers signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2025
to collaborate more closely on non-differentiating vehicle software in the
coming years. Since then, participation has expanded significantly: the
number of formal signatories has grown from eleven to 32, while a total of 52
organisations are now involved in the initiative, according to the project
partners.
From the Eclipse Foundation’s perspective, the growing level
of engagement reflects a broader global shift towards open innovation in the
automotive sector. Industry leaders increasingly recognise that shared, trusted
open-source foundations are becoming a prerequisite for developing safe,
intelligent and connected vehicles. At the same time, the initiative responds
to the rising share of software in vehicles,
which is driving up development, integration and long-term maintenance costs
across the entire vehicle lifecycle.
S-CORE as a common foundation
At the heart of the initiative is S-CORE, an open software stack that combines operating system
components, middleware and essential base functions for software-defined
vehicles. The stack is designed to serve as a shared foundation on which
carmakers and suppliers can build their own brand-specific applications and
vehicle functions. “S-CORE aims to provide a publicly available
reference implementation for essential, non-differentiating functions within
the software-defined vehicle,” stated Dr Nico Hartmann, CTO at Qorix, who sees
it as nothing less than “a blueprint”.
The first public version of Eclipse S-CORE, Release 0.5, was
published in November 2025. A production-ready version 1.0 is scheduled for the
end of 2026 and is intended to support vehicle programmes expected to reach the
market from around 2030 onwards. Project partners estimate that the shared
approach could reduce development, integration and maintenance effort by up to
40 per cent, while cutting time to market by as much as 30 per cent.
From the VDA’s point of view, the collaborative development
of non-differentiating software allows both manufacturers and suppliers to
concentrate on delivering distinctive, customer-oriented experiences, rather
than repeatedly reinventing foundational software components.
Growing international participation and structured
governance
The ecosystem now brings together companies from across the
automotive value chain, including vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and
technology providers from the software, semiconductor and cloud sectors. Recent
additions include Accenture, AVL, Capgemini, Elektrobit, Infineon, LG
Electronics, Qualcomm, Red Hat, Schaeffler and T-Systems. Among vehicle
manufacturers, Stellantis and Traton have joined as new signatories, while
founding members such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Bosch, ZF and Valeo
remain actively involved.
The initiative is also attracting international interest.
Discussions with companies in the United States and Japan are ongoing, while
Chinese manufacturers have so far not taken part, according to the project
organisers. At the same time, both the Eclipse Foundation and the VDA stress
that the collaboration operates under established open-source governance rules.
Transparent decision-making processes, publicly accessible documentation and
clearly defined antitrust safeguards are intended to ensure a strict separation
between cooperation and competition.
At a European level, the project is closely aligned with
initiatives by the European Commission aimed at strengthening technological
sovereignty. Together, these efforts position Eclipse S-CORE as a potential
cornerstone for future software-defined vehicle programmes built on open,
industry-wide collaboration rather than isolated proprietary stacks.
