Software Engineering in the European Automotive Industry: Achievements and Challenges

Today automotive is an application field where innovation is growing at the highest rate. Innovation in automotive is principally due to the market-driven demand for electronic devices on the vehicles. Electronic equipments, more and more complex and connected by CANs (control area networks), control more than 85% of the automobilepsilas functionalities. The way European automotive industry has been facing the challenges arisen in the last years is the object of this paper. The authors, who have been involved for a decade in the technological evolution of automotive industry as well as in the Automotive SPICE initiative, starting from their experience provide a picture of the achievements and the open issues in the European automotive industry.