What challenges will the wiring harness industry face over the next five years?

There is little doubt that the wiring harness and EDS industry is facing major challenges. Having just passed the midpoint of what has already proven to be a difficult decade, the question now arises as to which developments will shape this automotive sector most strongly over the next five years – and why.

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Benjamin Müller

Ahead of the 14ᵗʰ Bordnetzkongress (Automotive Wire Harness & EDS Conference), which will take place on 5–6 May 2026 in Ludwigsburg, we spoke with four speakers from the event about key developments in the wiring harness industry:

• Lutz Schmittat, Head of Electromechanics E-Mobility at Dräxlmaier
• Serkan Akıncı, EDS Technical Leader at Ford Otosan & Nursan
• Thomas Lorenz, Technical Specialist at One Mobility
• Lutz Lehmann, Product Manager Digitalisation at Telsonic

All four were asked the same guiding question: “Looking ahead to the next five years: what will be the biggest challenge for the wiring harness and EDS industry – and why?”

Their responses paint a differentiated picture of the challenges that developers, suppliers and OEMs are likely to face. Their assessments highlight how strongly architecture decisions, material considerations, development speed and production processes will influence this part of the automotive industry.

How will architecture decisions determine cost and flexibility?

For Lutz Schmittat, who has spent almost fifteen years at Dräxlmaier working in areas such as series development and interior concept design, the issue ultimately comes down to a fundamental architectural question: “The decisive task of the next five years will be to reconcile SDV standardisation with the variant diversity of vehicle portfolios without paying for unused functions.”

The shift towards software-defined vehicles is fundamentally changing the requirements for wiring harness architectures. Platforms need to become more standardised, even as OEMs continue to offer a broad range of vehicle variants and equipment levels.

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Automotive Wire Harness & EDS Conference Europe

5-6 May 2026, Ludwigsburg

Wiring harness architectures therefore need to be flexible enough to support different performance levels, functions and vehicle segments without drifting into unnecessary complexity.

Will development speed become the key competitive factor?

Alongside architectural questions, development speed is becoming an essential factor. By 2026, vehicle programmes must be delivered much faster than they were just a few years ago. By 2031 – the end point of our guiding question – these speed requirements are unlikely to slow down. However, the pace of development will not be the same everywhere in the increasingly globalised industry.

Thomas Lorenz sees clear structural differences and bureaucratic hurdles between regions: “The biggest challenge will be keeping up in terms of speed with some non-European OEMs. They have learned a lot from observing us but were never slowed down by bureaucracy to the same extent, solving problems with experience rather than paperwork.” Lorenz brings extensive experience from wiring harness system development at OEMs such as BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen and Bugatti.

While many European development programmes remain strongly process- and documentation-driven, other markets rely more heavily on iterative development models and shorter decision cycles. Particularly when introducing new materials or connection technologies, technical solutions are often available but their adoption is delayed by complex approval procedures.

How is electrification transforming wiring harness requirements?

At the same time, electrification is increasing the demands placed on wiring harness components themselves. Higher currents, new high-voltage architectures and rising power densities significantly change the stresses acting on cables, contacts and connection technologies.

Electrical engineer Serkan Akıncı, who has worked at Ford since 2008, summarises the challenge succinctly: “The biggest challenge is bridging the gap between design and real-world application.”

In the commercial vehicle sector in particular, electrical systems are exposed to extreme environmental conditions. Vibrations, thermal cycles, moisture and corrosive environments can lead to failures over time.

Design, validation and testing methods must therefore take these real-world stresses into account more consistently in order to ensure the reliability of modern wiring harness systems. At the same time, demand is growing for more precise analysis and diagnostic methods that can identify potential faults at an early stage.

Why will digitalisation and data usage become decisive?

In addition to architecture and materials, digitalisation is also reshaping the industry. Wiring harness systems are among the most complex assemblies in a vehicle, both in development and in manufacturing.

For Lutz Lehmann, who has worked in various areas of the wiring harness industry since 1999, the consistent use of data will therefore become a decisive factor. He also believes battery-electric vehicles are clearly gaining momentum – at least in Europe.

“Electromobility will finally assert itself in Europe and Germany, displacing combustion engines with their classic electrical system architectures and long, design-driven development processes. Until then, suppliers must align themselves with increasingly vehicle software-driven, agile development processes and adapt wiring harness production to new system architectures. Consistent digitalization and data usage will become a matter of survival.”

Digital production systems, automated quality monitoring and data-driven process analyses can help detect errors early and stabilise complex manufacturing processes. At the same time, closer integration between development and production data will become increasingly important in order to shorten development cycles and improve manufacturing efficiency.

Why will the Bordnetzkongress 2026 matter for the industry?

These very topics will be at the centre of this year’s Bordnetzkongress. The 14th edition of the international conference will bring together developers, production managers and strategists from across the entire value chain of the wiring harness and EDS industry on 5–6 May 2026 in Ludwigsburg.

Participants will come from areas including vehicle development, wiring harness architecture, high-voltage and energy systems, production, automation as well as research and development. Alongside OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, the event will also include manufacturers of cable and connector systems, component suppliers, automation providers and research institutions.

Among the topics to be discussed in Ludwigsburg are new architectural approaches, strategies for high-current and high-voltage distribution, as well as digital engineering and production concepts. The aim of the two-day congress is to bring together technological trends and practical experience from development and production projects.

The answers from the four experts already indicate which issues are currently shaping the industry. Wiring harness systems are increasingly evolving into a strategic integration point for modern vehicle architectures – and thus into a decisive factor for the future of the automotive industry.

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Benjamin Müller