ZVEI calls for a European alliance on vehicle electronics

Jessica Mouchegh Jessica Mouchegh

Benjamin Müller Benjamin Müller International Editor for ADT, aIT, AP & All-Electr.

24 July 2026 - 16:19

1 min

Diagram of a car with digital network overlays and warning icons on a white background.

ZVEI represents more than 1,100 member companies and operates from offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Brussels and Beijing.

Image: Audi, Illustrations: Andreas Croonenbroeck

Europe’s automotive suppliers want common foundations for the next generation of vehicle electronics. Germany’s electrical and digital industry association ZVEI proposes standardised interfaces, centralised computing and closer cooperation on semiconductors and software.

ZVEI is calling for a coordinated European technology initiative covering vehicle electronics, automotive semiconductors and high-performance computing. The aim is to prevent Europe from falling behind as software becomes the defining layer of the vehicle.

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At the centre of the proposal is a common electrical and electronic architecture. “The new E/E architecture will determine the future of the vehicle. Europe has the know-how. If the German and European automotive industry masters the E/E architecture of the future, we can scale again,” says Wolfgang Weber, Chair of the ZVEI Management Board.

Why must vehicle architectures change?

Many current vehicles contain more than 160 electronic control units and several kilometres of wiring. Combined with electrification and digitalisation, this increases costs and lengthens development cycles.

ZVEI therefore advocates a more centralised architecture. Its white paper defines foundations intended to cover vehicles from the compact to the luxury segment. Standardised interfaces and protocols should improve interoperability and allow components to scale across platforms.

In practice, centralised E/E architectures across several brands and model lines could reduce fragmentation and make hardware and software easier to reuse. At semiconductor level, chiplet architectures and open interfaces can provide scalable computing foundations without requiring a completely new monolithic processor for every performance class.

A man in a suit speaks at a podium on a stage with a blue backdrop and the words ‘zwei’ and ‘electrifying ideas’. — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at eSummit, the annual congress of Germany’s electrical and digital industry in Berlin.

How can cooperation accelerate development?

ZVEI argues that non-differentiating functions should no longer be developed independently by several companies. Common foundations could reduce engineering effort, shorten innovation cycles and support faster vehicle launches.

This also strengthens the case for open software foundations for safety-critical platforms, provided responsibilities, validation and long-term maintenance are clearly defined. OEMs and suppliers could then focus more strongly on functions that differentiate their products.

What support does Europe need?

The association is calling for political support for European technology alliances, targeted investment in semiconductor and software expertise, and legal certainty for cooperative development and open-source software.

Public funding should focus on scalable E/E architectures, functional safety, cybersecurity and software-centric vehicle platforms. ZVEI also wants faster approval and standardisation processes so that shared technical foundations can move more quickly into industrial use.