Guidehouse Insights Explores Evolving Market for Automotive E/E Architectures

Automakers need to develop concrete plans to transition all new products to next-gen E/E architectures by the end of the decade

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A new report from Guidehouse Insights looks at the evolving market for automotive E/E architectures

Electronic control systems have been used in vehicles for nearly 50 years, and for much of that time, the electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture has evolved in an ad hoc manner. Each new feature provided to an automaker from a supplier consisted of a set of sensors and actuators with an electronic control unit with deeply embedded software. According to Guidehouse Insights, the proliferation of new features implemented in this way has led to greatly increased complexity and cost, and this architecture is largely incompatible with software-defined vehicles.

“For the past five decades, the electrical and electronic architecture of most vehicles has not fundamentally changed but has just slowly grown, like ivy and weeds overtaking an abandoned building,” says Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst with Guidehouse Insights. “That all began to shift following the 2012 introduction of the Tesla Model S. Among the numerous innovations that came with the Model S was the ability to update the vehicle’s software over the air (OTA) like a smartphone. This was enabled by its industry-first next-generation E/E architecture, a concept that legacy automakers have only recently begun to deploy.”

The shift to next-gen E/E architectures is accompanied by totally new software architectures to enable full, rapid update capabilities and the ability to update the hardware and software independently. In addition to allowing more frequent product and feature updates, these architectural changes can enable cost and quality improvements and make vehicles more resilient to supply chain disruptions.

A number of challenges are associated with these changes. Automakers and suppliers need more engineers with expertise in electronics design, network design, and particularly modern software development. Suppliers also need to focus on the power efficiency of compute platforms, especially as the industry transitions to EVs, according to the report.


The report, Next-Gen E/E Architectures: Wiring the Car of the Future, looks at the evolving market for automotive E/E architectures and how they will enable the software-defined vehicle, and provides recommendations for automakers and suppliers. An executive summary of the report is available for free download on the Guidehouse Insights website.

About Guidehouse Insights

Guidehouse Insights, the dedicated market intelligence arm of Guidehouse, provides research, data, and benchmarking services for today’s rapidly changing and highly regulated industries. Our insights are built on in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets. The team’s research methodology combines supply-side industry analysis, end-user primary research, and demand assessment, paired with a deep examination of technology trends, to provide a comprehensive view of emerging resilient infrastructure systems. Additional information about Guidehouse Insights can be found at www.guidehouseinsights.com.

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets, with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. By combining our public and private sector expertise, we help clients address their most complex challenges and navigate significant regulatory pressures focusing on transformational change, business resiliency, and technology-driven innovation. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and digital services, we create scalable, innovative solutions that help our clients outwit complexity and position them for future growth and success. The company has more than 17,000 professionals in over 55 locations globally. Guidehouse is led by seasoned professionals with proven and diverse expertise in traditional and emerging technologies, markets, and agenda-setting issues driving national and global economies. For more information, please visit www.guidehouse.com.

* The information contained in this press release concerning the report, Next-Gen E/E Architectures: Wiring the Car of the Future, is a summary and reflects the current expectations of Guidehouse Insights based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report’s conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Guidehouse Insights nor Guidehouse undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report.

 For more information, contact:

Cecile Fradkin for Guidehouse Insights

+1.646.941.9139

[email protected]

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SOURCE Guidehouse Insights

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