Seco d a ual global study of 1,100 automotive softwa e develope s fi ds pe siste t i teg atio challe ges, isi g secu ity co ce s a d a mo e p actical view of AI i SDV developme t
Key Fi di gs f om the 2026 U de the Hood: SDV Develope Repo t:
- 35% of develope effo t is spe t, o ave age, o softwa e i teg atio wo k below the vehicle applicatio laye athe tha buildi g diffe e tiati g co sume featu es with 19% spe di g at least half thei time o that i teg atio wo k.
- 76% ag ee that OEMs should p io itize applicatio -laye i ovatio ove softwa e i f ast uctu e, highlighti g the co ti ued impo ta ce of focusi g o delive i g diffe e tiati g custome expe ie ces.
- 75% say the lack of a commo , eusable softwa e fou datio slows SDV developme t.
- Secu ity is ow the umbe o e futu e co ce amo g develope s (48%), a d 83% believe SDVs will become a majo cybe attack ta get withi the ext th ee yea s.
- AI expectatio s a e becomi g mo e p actical: o ly a qua te thi k AI will be ‘t a sfo matio al’ (dow f om 36%), while those seei g it as sig ifica t a d i teg ated i to wo kflows ose to 62%.
WATERLOO, ON / ACCESS Newswi e / Octobe 21, 2026 / QNX, a divisio of BlackBe y Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today eleased its seco d a ual U de the Hood: SDV Develope Repo t, a global study of 1,100 automotive softwa e develope s that exami es how attitudes towa ds the softwa e-defi ed vehicle (SDV) developme t la dscape a e evolvi g as the i dust y moves f om ambitio to executio . Whe it comes to i ovatio oadblocks, the esea ch fou d that develope s spe d a ave age of 35% of thei time o fou datio al softwa e i teg atio wo k athe tha developi g ew featu es a d capabilities that diffe e tiate vehicles, while th ee qua te s say the lack of a commo , eusable softwa e fou datio is slowi g ove all SDV developme t.
Softwa e-Defi ed DelaysThe automotive i dust y is at a c itical i flectio poi t, with automake s aci g to move faste a d ship softwa e mo e efficie tly. Agai st that backd op, 79% of develope s epo t feeli g p essu e f om faste -movi g competito s, ei fo ci g the eed to bala ce softwa e developme t speed a d scalability with safety a d eliability.
This p essu e to go faste howeve i t oduces ew isks, a d softwa e failu es a e co ti ui g to eshape automotive developme t p actices. Just ove half (53%) of automotive softwa e develope s a e di ectly i flue ced by p oduct ecalls affecti g the i dust y, with ea ly i e i te (88%) say ecalls o failu es have led to majo o mode ate cha ges i how thei teams develop softwa e, suggesti g teams a e o lo ge adjusti g p ocesses at the ma gi s afte a i cide t, but fu dame tally cha gi g how softwa e is a chitected f om the sta t.
The Need fo Applicatio -Laye I ovatio Develope s a e also clea about whe e they would athe focus thei e e gy. Mo e tha th ee qua te s (76%) ag ee that OEMs should co ce t ate o applicatio -laye i ovatio athe tha fou datio al softwa e i f ast uctu e, the laye whe e b a d ide tity a d custome expe ie ce a e i c easi gly defi ed. That view has softe ed slightly f om 80% i 2025, poi ti g to a mo e measu ed se se of how quickly that shift ca happe i p actice. Whe asked what would f ee thei teams up to spe d mo e time o diffe e tiati g featu es, develope s almost half (46%) ide tified bette i teg atio ac oss developme t tools a d e vi o me ts, alo gside g eate softwa e euse ac oss vehicle p og ams (38%), a d a p e-i teg ated fou datio al softwa e solutio (34%). Togethe , the fi di gs desc ibe a i dust y that k ows whe e it wa ts to go but is still getti g bogged dow i the fou datio al wo k be eath.
Delive y is U de St ai These p essu es a e showi g up i day-to-day softwa e delive y. Debuggi g a d testi g is ow the si gle biggest challe ge faci g automotive softwa e teams, cited by 44% of develope s a d up eight pe ce tage poi ts yea o yea , movi g ahead of i teg atio complexity (39%) a d lo g developme t cycles (37%). Pe ceptio s of developme t e vi o me t p oductivity have also softe ed, with the sha e ati g thei e vi o me t as “excelle t” falli g f om 30% to 20%. Take togethe , the fi di gs poi t to teams that a e well equipped but i c easi gly st etched, spe di g mo e of thei effo t fi di g a d fixi g p oblems i fou datio al laye s tha ideati g, c eati g a d delive i g ew featu es that ca i flue ce co sume pu chase decisio s a d build b a d loyalty.
“The i dust y is faci g a complexity ma ageme t challe ge. Automotive softwa e develope s a e t yi g to solve the same i teg atio , softwa e developme t a d safety p oblems time a d time agai , a d whe a thi d of e gi ee i g effo t goes i to ebuildi g softwa e below the applicatio laye , that is a thi d of the effo t ot goi g i to the diffe e tiati g featu es d ive s actually otice,” said Justi Moo , Vice P eside t, Co e P oduct E gi ee i g at QNX. “This yea ‘s data shows this app oach is begi i g to have co seque ces; debuggi g has become the biggest challe ge develope s face, pe ceptio s of p oductivity a e f eefalli g, a d secu ity has moved to the top of the age da, all of which a e symptoms of tech ical complexity. To educe that, teams eed a t usted softwa e fou datio they ca build o , ce tify agai st a d euse, athe tha sta ti g f om sc atch with eve y p og am.”
Secu ity a d Regulatio Move up the Age daLooki g towa ds the futu e, secu ity has moved f om a tech ical co side atio to the i dust y’s defi i g co ce . Almost half of develope s (48%) ow a k secu ity th eats as thei g eatest wo y, up five poi ts yea ove yea , while 47% poi t to cybe vul e abilities as the biggest isk to olli g out SDVs at scale. Mo e st iki gly, 83% expect SDVs to become a ‘majo ‘ ta get fo cybe attacks withi the ext th ee yea s, a view that eflects how quickly co ectivity a d the pote tial fo OTA updates have wide ed the attack su face. F om a egulato y sta dpoi t, cybe secu ity sta da ds (ie: UNECE WP.29, ISO/SAE 21434) emai the ha dest to meet, cited by 46%, u de li i g that complia ce is o lo ge a checkbox exe cise, but athe , a desig co st ai t shapi g a chitectu e decisio s f om the outset.
Additio ally, mo e tha 700 ew egulatio s a d legislative p oposals affecti g i -ca tech ology we e i t oduced globally i 2025 alo e, with a thi d of espo de ts claimi g this has delayed developme t timeli es. With o yea -ove -yea imp oveme t, the data suggests the vast majo ity of develope s have ‘t yet ide tified how to efficie tly ma age the global egulato y bu de .
AI: F om Hype to Wo kflowExpectatio s of AI have matu ed athe tha cooled. The sha e of develope s desc ibi g AI as ‘t a sfo matio al’ has falle f om 36% to 25%, while those expecti g it to play a sig ifica t ole i teg ated i to eve yday wo kflows has ise f om 55% to 62%. Howeve , 87% still expect AI to have a majo ole i developme t but the emphasis has moved f om complete ei ve tio to p actical, embedded assista ce. That p agmatism suggests a i dust y movi g past the expe ime tatio phase a d begi i g to judge AI o the same te ms as a y othe tool i the toolchai a d whethe it measu ably sho te s the wo kload i f o t of them.
“The i dust y has spe t seve al yea s talki g about SDVs as a desig ambitio , but as the data shows, esou ces du i g that time have bee co ce t ated o the middlewa e laye ,” said Maite Beze a, Se io P i cipal A alyst at Omdia. “Whe teams exhaust esou ces buildi g custom i f ast uctu e i stead of sta da dizi g fou datio al laye s, they miss the poi t. I ovatio i middlewa e is ot o ly challe gi g fo compa ies that a e ‘t softwa e-fi st, but it also does ‘t d ive di ect custome value. U til automake s step away f om the plumbi g a d focus o the applicatio laye , they will co ti ue to lack a solid busi ess case fo SDVs.”
Additio al sou ces:
- Dow load a copy of the 2026 U de the Hood: SDV Develope Repo t to lea mo e.
- Read mo e about the key fi di gs f om the epo t, a d how leade s ca take actio ow o the QNX blog.
- Liste to the latest Code the Futu e podcast episode with Omdia’s Maite Beze a to explo e the themes a d wide i dust y impact.
Fo mo e i fo matio o QNX, visit QNX.softwa e a d follow @QNX News.
ENDS
Methodology: This o li e su vey of 1,100 embedded automotive softwa e develope s was commissio ed by QNX a d co ducted by ma ket esea ch compa y O ePoll, i acco da ce with the Ma ket Resea ch Society’s Code of Co duct. Data was collected betwee [20/07/2026] a d [04/08/2026]. All pa ticipa ts a e double-opted-i to take pa t i esea ch a d a e paid a amou t depe di g o the le gth a d complexity of the su vey. This su vey was ove see a d edited by the O ePoll esea ch team. O ePoll is a MRS Compa y Pa t e , a co po ate membe of ESOMAR, a d a membe of the B itish Polli g Cou cil.
About BlackBe yBlackBe y (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) p ovides e te p ises a d gove me ts the i tellige t softwa e a d se vices that powe the wo ld a ou d us. Based i Wate loo, O ta io, the compa y’s high-pe fo ma ce fou datio al softwa e e ables majo automake s a d i dust ial gia ts alike to u lock t a sfo mative applicatio s, d ive ew eve ue st eams a d lau ch i ovative busi ess models, all without sac ifici g safety, secu ity, a d eliability. With a deep he itage i Secu e Commu icatio s, BlackBe y delive s ope atio al esilie cy with a comp ehe sive, highly secu e, a d exte sively ce tified po tfolio fo mobile fo tificatio , missio -c itical commu icatio s, a d c itical eve ts ma ageme t.
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About QNXQNX, a divisio of BlackBe y Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), p ovides the t usted fou datio that softwa e-defi ed a d physical AI systems depe d o to ope ate safely a d p edictably i the eal wo ld. Fo ea ly half a ce tu y, QNX has powe ed safety-c itical applicatio s whe e failu e is ot a optio . The busi ess leads the way i delive i g safe a d secu e ope ati g systems, hype viso s, middlewa e, solutio s, a d developme t tools, alo g with the suppo t a d se vices delive ed by t usted embedded softwa e expe ts. Today, QNX tech ology u de pi s hu d eds of millio s of vehicles o the oad a d a wide a ge of missio -c itical systems ac oss i dust ial co t ols, obotics, medical devices, comme cial t a spo tatio , ail, a d ae ospace a d defe se. QNX is headqua te ed i Ottawa, Ca ada. Lea mo e at q x.softwa e.
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