Ecosystems All the Rage at CES 2025Ecosystems All the Rage at CES 2025

LAS VEGAS – It’s all about the ecosystem.

As the shift to the software-defined vehicle and AI-fused operation takes hold with its seemingly endless possibilities for features and functions, product planning and development grows exponentially more complicated.

And it now appears at least some automakers are ready to admit they can’t do it all when it comes to executing new SDV electronics architectures and developing the myriad software platforms needed to drive them.

Recent headlines have noted General Motors’ move to cut some 1,000 software engineers from its rolls as it rejiggers its product-development strategy. Volkswagen’s years-long struggles with its CARIAD software division also has been well documented, and the German automaker recently turned to battery-electric-vehicle startup Rivian for help in developing its future SDV platforms. Sony, which began taking reservations last week for its $89,900-$102,900 Afeela car developed with Honda, noted the vehicle “could not have (been) done without our diverse network of partners” – a list that includes Qualcomm, HERE, Elektrobit, Verizon, AUO, KDDI and others.

Automakers always have worked closely with suppliers on a component-by-component or even systems-level basis, so collaboration is nothing new. But to be truly software defined, next-generation vehicles will require a much more holistic approach in their overall design strategy, and the skills and knowledge needed to sort through the myriad directional choices are stretching the limits of any one company.

“There have always been joint ventures and things like that, but I think you’re seeing much, much deeper partnerships today because the complexity is so great, but also the opportunities,” says Patrick Brady, vice president of Android Automotive at Google.

That emerging trend to lean on a cadre of supporters in the transition to SDVs has tech and tier companies rushing to form alliances and is changing the dynamic between OEM purchasers and suppliers, executives here say. Seemingly everyone in the supply chain is looking to leverage these ecosystems and jockey into position as the key influencer that can guide automakers through the maze – and land critical new business in the process.

If “artificial intelligence” were the most-often uttered words around CES 2025 here, “ecosystem” was not far behind. In turning to these collaborations, OEMs are looking for help in building a framework for their next-generation platforms that include future-proof electronic architectures that will keep vehicles relevant throughout the life of ownership. Adding to the complexity that needs sorting, these platforms must be cost-effective across multiple vehicle lines and price points for a variety of global markets.

The networks being created among suppliers and service providers to guide automakers through the product-development maze aren’t exclusive relationships. But they may offer the best path through an automaker’s door for many in the supply chain. For the OEM, they can provide a more cohesive, one-point-of-contact approach that brings the full force of a variety of products and expertise together at the earliest stages of new-vehicle programs to smooth out the technology integration bumps and shorten overall development time.

“We go to market with a solution, with an ecosystem,” notes Nakul Duggal, group general manager for automotive, industrial and cloud at Qualcomm, whose company is quickly gaining computing applications in digital cockpits and advanced driver-assistance system platforms worldwide. “We go to market with a large number of partners who are developing with our solution. (When) you already have an ecosystem in place…that is how (you) can enter into all these markets.”

Qualcomm’s announcements at CES 2025 here prove the point, as the chipmaker releases a long list of collaborators related to SDV and digital-chassis applications, including recent partnerships with Hyundai Mobis, Panasonic, Garmin, Mahindra and Desay. It also has key tie-ups with Google and Amazon Auto, both gaining ground with key operation-system software applications in vehicle cockpits.

As the movement toward digitalization has emerged, automakers have struggled over how much software and systems to manage in-house and keep proprietary and where to access off-the-shelf technology and seek help from tech companies and traditional suppliers. But some here say OEMs now appear much more open to development partnerships when it comes to even foundational software and systems, as they look to focus their own efforts more intently on differentiating that technology for their car-buying customers.

“They are retooling for this change,” David Fritz, senior director-autonomous and ADAS for engineering and testing software supplier Siemens, says of automakers, pointing to recent decisions some have made to rethink their SDV development approaches and lean more on outside vendors. “What I’m excited about is, we’re right in the middle of that. Our engagements this year have just gone up exponentially.”

The complexity around developing SDVs is changing the OEM-supplier dynamic in big ways, shifting from a traditional purchaser-seller relationship to one that is far more consultative, industry insiders here say.

“The discussions we have now with carmakers like Rivian, with technology companies like Qualcomm are very different,” Google’s Brady says. “It is not just the supplier-purchaser partnership, it’s a deep partnership. There are new capabilities coming in…and we all have to step back and say, ‘What can we each bring to this? How can we create an even better customer experience?’ And so it’s more collaborative product development now than I think it was in the past.”

Elektrobit, a subsidiary of Tier 1 giant Continental that specializes in embedded and connected software products and services, concurs.

“We see a lot of times that our customers are asking for guidance,” says Moritz Neukirchner, senior director, strategic product management for the SDV at Elektrobit. “We are taking exactly this kind of role as a guide for a lot of our customers.”

Broad product-lineup and global-market complexities are additional factors driving OEMs toward ecosystem partnerships.

“The automaker is building a platform that has to meet a global footprint (and) not every market has the same needs; not every market has the same affordability,” Qualcomm’s Duggal says. “The automaker can’t afford to build many different skews of the same product.

“The glue that we are is, we understand deeply what the economics are for the automaker, what the regionalization needs are for the automaker, what the tiering needs are and the affordable needs are for the automaker,” he adds. “And then we design our hardware product portfolio on top of which we layer on a software product portfolio that allows us to invite ecosystem partners, tech ecosystems that can essentially build on top of that.”

With everyone scrambling to form ecosystems and land the key advisory role that can influence an automaker’s development direction and win its business, reputation and relationships are what matters.

“That’s why you need a (strong) brand,” says Siemens’ Fritz. “You need the breadth and the depth (to be able) to come in and say, ‘We can help you do that.’”

Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s chief software officer, sums up the evolution underway during a panel discussion here.

“It’s really about the ecosystem,” he says. “It starts with suppliers, because it’s really about working with partners and understanding what’s the best that they can provide.”