Rising production costs and a need to be faster-to-market is making vehicle manufacturers embrace a common open source solution for the basic ingredients required for today’s software-defined vehicle (SDV). An initiative pioneered by the open-source Eclipse Foundation and Germany’s Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) now includes 32 global companies in the vehicle supply chain. That bitter rivals BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen are signatories means the initiative is on a fast track.
The goal is to reduce the duplication across the development of “non-differentiating” vehicle software by using shared software. This would then allow vehicle makers to concentrate on developing software that enhances the vehicle experience for owners. This would include bespoke features like user interfaces and digital assistants, for example.
“Through joint development of non-differentiating software, manufacturers and suppliers can focus their resources on what truly matters: delivering unique, customer-centric experiences,” says Dr. Marcus Bollig, VDA managing director.
Making this possible is an Eclipse S-Core stack that will be used by signatories. The promise is that this common stack will require 40% less effort for the development, integration and maintenance of non-differentiating software and 30% faster-to-market times. Another benefit will be greater compatibility between supplier and vehicle platforms as well as greater sustainability.
Eclipse delivered its first version 0.5 public release in November 2025. The results were apparently impressive as signatories quickly jumped from a core group of 11 to 32 announced at this month’s CES in Las Vegas. New members are as varied as Red Hat, LG Electronics, and Stellantis to name just a few of the new signatories. The group now extends across a global automotive ecosystem that includes vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, software companies, semiconductor providers and cloud specialists.
“SDV is a team sport,” says Dr. Christof Horn, global lead SDV for Accenture, one of the signatories.
SDV-driven experiences are becoming a key selling point. Ford, for example, wants to “democratize” SDV into lower priced vehicles. What this means isn’t exactly clear but the company is promoting features like an app that will determine whether cargo will fit into the back of a pickup truck simply by taking a photo of it. On the other hand, Ford canceled its flagship FNV4 software architecture initiative last spring, racking up $10 billion in losses. Rival car makers likely noted that open-source software cooperation may be a prudent move.
