Vehicle HMI and infotainment are entering a phase where AI, contextualisation, and software‑defined architectures are reshaping how drivers and passengers experience the car.

As we mark the halfway point of 2026, one thing is apparent: consumer and industry technology is evolving faster than ever… still.

As vehicles become increasingly software- and connectivity-focused, the automotive industry is undergoing structural shifts.

The HERE Tech Day in Paris brought together OEMs, suppliers and technology companies to discuss the future of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), artificial intelligence, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), digital cockpits and next-generation mapping technologies.

June demonstrated how Chinese automakers are fighting on multiple fronts, product releases in Europe and over-the-air updates for Chinese customers.

In 2026, the light commercial vehicle (LCV) industry experienced a fundamental phase in the market. With connectivity at its peak, fleets are under pressure to deliver more with less, such as more uptime, more safety and more efficiency, all while reducing costs and meeting sustainability goals.

For automotive OEMs, vehicle safety has long focused on preventing collisions and protecting occupants during impact.

The EV battery market is diversifying, but the battery supply chain is not necessarily decentralising. Today, the answer to higher EV adoption does not seem to lie with a single miracle battery chemistry. The direction that more stakeholders are taking instead is diversification.

The industry's greatest challenge is no longer proving that new mobility technologies work. The challenge is scaling them economically, globally and safely.

For years, the automotive industry has focused on reducing cost, improving quality and increasing manufacturing efficiency. AI will certainly contribute to all three. However, the biggest impact for both OEMs and suppliers is likely to come from something far more powerful, speed of decision-making.

A clear messages that also emerged from discussions at the Automotive Ethernet Congress (AEC) was that automotive Ethernet has crossed an important threshold.

The idea of being able to start, lock, unlock your car from a smartphone isn’t new. But, due to market security concerns, the introduction of specific UNECE requirements and UK and German insurance requirements around digital keys, the implementation of smartphone as a key in Europe has been slow compared to other markets around the world.

As TOPS stops being the bottleneck, memory bandwidth is becoming the deciding factor for the next generation of smart cockpits.

Automotive cybersecurity is moving beyond vehicle-level protection toward ecosystem-level assurance. Throughout Escar, the conversation repeatedly extended past ECUs and in-vehicle networks to include API systems, regulatory evidence pipelines, and AI-driven attack and defense. Vehicles are no longer standalone products, but distributed cyber-physical systems connected to wider mobility, cloud, and energy networks.

Much of the discussion around automotive transformation focuses on electrification, tariffs or Chinese competition. But GM appears to believe the industry's biggest challenge sits much deeper in the vehicle itself.

It has been a busy period for the Chinese automotive industry. New products were announced ahead of the Spring Festival in February, and during the Beijing Auto Show in April.

As the Software-Defined Vehicle comes closer to fruition, connectivity is becoming a much stronger priority among OEMs, newer players, suppliers, developers and more both across the automotive industry, and even beyond. While this shift can be observed through the disruption of many automotive features and technologies, two stand out: cockpit apps and virtual personal assistants (VPAs). The cockpit app ecosystem has grown exponentially in recent years, with more and more au

From my recent attendance to the AI & SDV European Summit in Stuttgart, something came out clearly

Insights from SBD Automotive’s industry-wide survey into crypto-agility and post-quantum cryptography adoption.

The BMW iX3 is the brand’s first true SDV in the Neue Klass platform. It is also its first vehicle to embody the philosophy of using a smaller and ergonomically friendly in-car displays to reduce distractions.

The transition to electric mobility depends on more than the rollout of charging infrastructure. It also depends on whether drivers can trust the digital systems guiding them to that infrastructure.

A few years ago, the question product cyber teams asked was simply: “What should we actually deploy to meet R155 expectations?” Today, the question has changed; and that shift matters.