What’s ahead at the Automobil-Elektronik Kongress 2025?

Sabine Synkule

30 May 2025 - 16:59

2 min

As in previous years, we expect a full house in Ludwigsburg again in 2025.

Matthias Baumgartner

On 24 June, it's finally that time again: Decision-makers in the fields of electricity, electronics, and software in cars will meet in Ludwigsburg for the Automobil-Elektronik Kongress, the annual networking event of the industry.

This year, the forum in Ludwigsburg opens its doors for the 29th time for participants of the Automobil-Elektronik Kongress (AEK for short). From 24th to 25th June, industry experts, researchers, and innovators will come together for the central networking event in this field to discuss the latest advancements in automotive electronics. On the evening of the first day of the congress, the traditional industry gathering will once again take place at the Reithaus Ludwigsburg, where congress participants can continue the day's discussions over a cocktail and make further contacts.

These are the topics for 2025

The 29th AEK – Key Takeaways

The summit of decision-makers in automotive electronics
On 24th and 25th June 2025 at the Forum Ludwigsburg
VIP event by personal invitation on 23rd June 2025
At the evening industry gathering on 24th June, there are excellent networking opportunities.
Info and registration: www.automobil-elektronik-kongress.de

This year's Automobil-Elektronik Kongress is themed "Navigating through Global Complexity: Architecture and Platform Solution for scaling SDVs". Thus, the software-defined vehicle will once again be the focus in 2025. In addition to software, other key topics include hardware and the role of artificial intelligence in the automotive industry. In the "Technologies to Watch" sessions, participants will gain a deep technical insight into ADAS/AD-SoC solutions, applications in the SDV era, cloud-native innovation, and bidirectional charging.

Expert Presentations

More than 20 experts will present the latest technological advancements in the industry. They represent their companies, among others, as CEO, CTO, CSO, President & Managing Director, Vice President, Director or Head of AI Research Center.

The opening speech will be given by Ricky Hudi, Chairman of the AEK Advisory Board and CEO of FMT. The following slot belongs to Magnus Östberg, CSO at Mercedes-Benz. In his speech, he will address the topic "MB.OS - Setting Standards from Chip to Cloud". Subsequently, Stephan Durach, SVP Connected Company Development at BMW, will present his lecture on "BMW Panoramic iDrive - A New Chapter in Human-Machine Interaction". Further lectures by renowned industry representatives will follow. For more detailed information, please refer to the programme around #AEK_live on the internet at www.automobil-elektronik-kongress.de.

Due to the growing internationality of the industry, all speakers will also present their lectures exclusively in English this year.

This is what participants and speakers say about AEK 2025

Dr. Liming Chen, President, Horizon Robotics: "It is an honour to speak at the renowned Automotive Electronics Congress. This esteemed event brings together an impressive group of leaders and innovators to explore the transformation of the automotive industry towards intelligent driving. I look forward to exchanging ideas on how the co-design approach of hardware and software, along with cutting-edge algorithms like end-to-end and VLA models, can enable significant added value."

Carsten Hurasky, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, QNX: "The AEK is an important event for us as it provides the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and exchange key insights. We look forward to networking with some of the brightest minds in the industry, exploring collaboration opportunities, and driving the future of automotive innovation. Personally, I also look forward to meeting friends from the industry at least once a year at the AEK."

Maria Anhalt, CEO, Elektrobit: "The competitive pressure - especially from companies in the East - is undeniable. Adapting to new global realities is not optional but business-critical. The approach of the software-defined vehicle (SDV), which promises efficiency and speed, is at the forefront of solutions. But how can we scale it effectively? What do we need to consider regarding supply chains, business processes, and monetisation models? I look forward to discussing these questions with insights from Elektrobit at the Automotive Electronics Congress (AEK), the event where innovation meets strategy and industry leaders forge plans that drive change."

Lars Reger, EVP and CTO, NXP Semiconductors: "We are in a transition phase where driving machines are evolving into connected robots on wheels. To succeed, we must collaborate across the entire value chain and various ecosystems such as robotics, transport, and intelligent, connected systems. This requires a high level of collaboration, co-innovation, and partnerships, and it begins here, at the Automotive Electronics Congress. As every year, I look forward to the discussions, the industry insights, the exchange, and the fun with old and new colleagues."

John Wall, Chief Operations Officer, Head of Product, Engineering & Services, QNX: "The transition to software-defined vehicles is one of the most complex challenges the automotive industry has faced in recent years. Successfully managing this change requires strong collaboration in the industry - transparent in nature but focused in execution. It is crucial to leverage the benefits of existing industry-wide collaboration while ensuring a sustainable business model. That's why I look forward to the AEK - an important event where leading industry representatives come together to address the challenges of automotive software and electronics. The AEK provides an important platform for decision-makers and engineers to discuss the crucial trends shaping software-defined vehicles, from centralised architectures to functional safety and protection. At the AEK, I will explore with Vector and TTTech Auto how an integrated, safety-certified, foundational software platform for multiple control units can simplify development, reduce integration complexity, and enable automakers to focus on differentiation and innovation, providing real added value to customers. We look forward to exciting discussions at the AEK."

Magnus Östberg, CSO, Mercedes-Benz: "The Automotive Electronics Congress in Ludwigsburg is a significant event in the automotive industry. At Mercedes-Benz, we are setting new standards with the new CLA and our Mercedes-Benz Operating System MB.OS - from the chip to the cloud. I am excited to give you more insights into our first Software Defined Vehicle, including Agentic-AI, at the AEK 2025 and to take you on the journey into the future of mobility."

Dr. Matthias Traub, President & Managing Director, Vector Informatik: "Following our mission to simplify software engineering in the automotive sector, we are building a highly integrated and optimised foundational software platform together with QNX and TTTech. It is a great pleasure for me to present this platform approach together with our partners at this year's AEK, one of the leading automotive events. The platform leverages open-source principles such as open collaboration, a code-first approach, and an ecosystem based on a safety and security-first culture with reliable partners."

Jyotika Athavale, Director Engineering Architecture, Synopsys: "The AEK is a first-class technical conference that brings together the who's who of the automotive industry. I am very honoured to give a talk this year and to share my vision on the future of reliable data processing in light of recent developments in AI accelerators and chiplet-based architectures. I look forward to discussing the new standardisation initiatives addressing the challenges of fault tolerance for safety-critical systems. I am very proud to be part of this exciting platform that facilitates collaboration on key topics that are changing the future of automotive computing!"

These are the Panel Discussions

In 2025, there will be two panel discussions. In the first panel on the topic: "EE Architectures on a Global Scale - Challenges and Solutions", Ricky Hudi (FMT), Maria Anhalt (Elektrobit), Dr. Christoph Grote (BMW), Armin Prommersberger (Harman) and Magnus Östberg (Mercedes-Benz) will discuss. The second discussion revolves around the topic "Computing Architectures of the Future". Participants are Alfred Vollmer (Freelance Journalist), Jyotika Athavale (Synopsys), Sebastién Clamagirand (NXP), Andrea Gallo (RISC-V International) and Bart Placklé (imec).

This article was first published at all-electronics.de