In connected car news are Hyundai, Mazda, PTC, Stellantis, Applied Intuition, Qualcomm, MathWorks, Renesas, Silicon Motion, Diodes Incorporated, Veoneer, SafeFields Technologies, AEye, MoveAWheeL, MN8 Energy and Solera.
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Hyundai Expands Bluelink Store OTA Digital Customization
Hyundai Motor America expanded the availability of its over-the-air Digital Features and Services platform to encompass its highest-volume vehicle lines. Accessed via the proprietary Bluelink Store in-app marketplace, the software-on-demand platform is now operational across eligible model years of the Tucson, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, and IONIQ 5, building on previous rollouts for the Palisade and IONIQ 9. The ecosystem allows vehicle owners to acquire, download, and activate infotainment and instrument cluster modifications over-the-air without requiring dealer service interventions.
The software monetization push introduces stylized infotainment Display Themes that interface with Hyundai’s Connected Car Navigation Cockpit hardware architecture. Software updates include a complimentary promotional FIFA World Cup 2026 skin featuring integrated graphics of Boston Dynamics’ Spot and Atlas robotics platforms, alongside commercially licensed content options. To maintain system functionality, the architecture requires an active Bluelink subscription, with purchased digital assets permanently tethered to the vehicle identification number to permit feature transfers during secondary market vehicle sales.
Mazda Selects PTC Codebeamer ALM for SDV Engineering
Mazda Motor Corporation selected the PTC Codebeamer Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solution to standardize its requirements management, testing, and validation protocols for software-defined vehicle (SDV) development. The deployment establishes an enterprise product data foundation to replace fragmented legacy tools, enabling end-to-end traceability and early issue detection across safety-critical software systems.
The software platform maintains continuous data connectivity with Mazda’s existing Model-Based Development (MBD) frameworks, linking design models directly to validation results. This integration streamlines automotive regulatory compliance by enforcing strict development checkpoints and tracking configuration modifications. The implementation functions as a core repository for engineering knowledge reuse, setting the baseline for subsequent AI-driven development workflows and accelerated product lifecycle orchestration.
Stellantis & Applied Intuition Expand STLA Brain Software
Stellantis NV and software developer Applied Intuition Inc. expanded their strategic technology alliance to co-develop and scale the next-generation STLA Brain intelligent vehicle architecture. The agreement extends an existing joint software development pipeline previously restricted to the STLA SmartCockpit infotainment layer. Under the expanded framework, Applied Intuition will deploy its Vehicle OS, Cabin Intelligence, and simulation systems across core Stellantis vehicle platforms to accelerate the validation, continuous integration, and over-the-air deployment of vehicle control software.
The technical integration leverages Applied Intuition’s automated testing and simulation toolchains to decouple hardware dependencies from software lifecycles within the centralized STLA Brain system-on-chip architecture. By embedding production-scale artificial intelligence foundations directly into the electronic control frameworks, Stellantis aims to shorten vehicle engineering cycles and establish a unified software baseline across its multi-brand corporate portfolio. While final commercial scopes and contract terms remain subject to subsequent definitive agreements, the strategic framework permits both automotive and software entities to maintain open-source modularity and pursue independent secondary software collaborations.
Stellantis & Qualcomm Expand Digital Chassis Agreement
Stellantis N.V. and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have signed an expanded, multi-year strategic agreement to integrate Snapdragon Digital Chassis system-on-chips across next-generation Stellantis vehicle architectures. The expanded partnership extends Qualcomm silicon architectures beyond existing cockpit and connectivity layers into advanced driver assistance systems, establishing a unified compute foundation to support the STLA Brain electronic and software-defined vehicle platform.
The non-binding agreement incorporates the Snapdragon Ride Pilot ADAS stack and high-performance SoC suite to enable scalable automated driving functionalities from regulatory active safety up to Level 2+ hands-free autonomy. This software-driven consolidation aims to accelerate time-to-market and lower production costs through global platform standardization across the multi-brand Stellantis portfolio. The collaboration also includes a non-binding letter of intent for Qualcomm to acquire Stellantis-owned automated driving and simulation subsidiary aiMotive, subject to due diligence, definitive agreements, and regulatory approvals.
MathWorks Adds MATLAB & Simulink Integrations for Renesas
MathWorks announced new Hardware Support Packages establishing direct code execution pathways from MATLAB and Simulink to Renesas microcontrollers, targeting automotive electronic control units and industrial motion controllers. The integration expands Model-Based Design capabilities by automating embedded software compilation, device flashing, and on-target execution verification. The workflow aims to eliminate manual toolchain configuration and device driver assembly for tier-one suppliers and industrial engineering teams.
For automotive implementations, the support package targets the Renesas RH850/U2A microcontroller, a deterministic architecture utilized across electric vehicle traction motor control, advanced driver-assistance systems, and body electronics. The integration allows automated deployment of field-oriented control and regenerative braking algorithms directly from Simulink to the hardware, accelerating calibration cycles and transient torque response validation. For industrial and robotics deployment, the software packages interface with the Renesas RA6T2 microcontroller to streamline rapid prototyping, motion profile benchmarking, and closed-loop tuning for servo and variable-speed drive systems.
Silicon Motion Secures ISO 26262 Cert
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation announced it has achieved the ISO 26262 functional safety process certification, validating its engineering workflows for automotive-grade electronic systems. The international standard establishes compliance protocols for the development and validation of road vehicle electrical architectures, enabling the semiconductor firm to accelerate its deployment of NAND flash controllers and embedded storage units within software-defined vehicle platforms.
The process certification encompasses the vendor’s functional safety management, system architecture design, hardware-software integration, and validation operations. By embedding these standardized quality workflows, the company aims to meet strict tier-one and OEM tier verification mandates for high-reliability data storage. Target sub-system integration areas include high-throughput advanced driver assistance systems, connected vehicle telematics gateways, digital instrument clusters, and AI-driven infotainment cockpits utilizing the company’s specialized SSD controllers and Ferri-embedded storage products.
Diodes Incorporated Hall Effect Latch Portfolio
Diodes Incorporated announced the expansion of its AH371xQ series with the introduction of the AH3711Q automotive-compliant Hall effect latch, engineered for brushless DC motor control, linear and incremental rotary encoders, and position-sensing applications. Operating at an ultra-high magnetic sensitivity threshold of plus or minus 10 Gauss, the bipolar switching device allows tier-one suppliers to deploy smaller, lower-cost magnets to compress overall system footprints and total bill-of-materials costs. Target automotive subsystems include power-window lifts, sunroof mechanisms, power tailgates, seat adjustment motors, and electronic cooling fans and pumps.
The hardware architecture integrates a chopper-stabilized design to minimize switch-point drift across a wide operating temperature envelope spanning negative 40 to positive 150 degrees Celsius, boosting stray-field immunity and structural resilience during printed circuit board assembly. For system robustness, the latch supports an input voltage range of 3V to 27V and features a reverse blocking diode, output overcurrent limits, and integrated Zener clamps capable of withstanding 40V load dumps. The open-drain output design features a typical power-on time of 13 microseconds and delivers 8kV human body model and 1kV charged device model electrostatic discharge ratings, with packaging options split by polarity configurations across SOT23, SC59, and SIP-3 formats.
Veoneer & SafeFields Technologies Active EMF Reduction Systems
SafeFields Technologies has entered a strategic collaboration with Veoneer to commercialize automotive-grade electronics designed to reduce low-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions inside vehicles. The partnership aims to accelerate deployment of scalable, OEM-ready solutions for electric, hybrid, and increasingly electronics-heavy conventional vehicles.
The companies said the collaboration comes as regulators, safety evaluators, and vehicle grading organizations place greater attention on potential EMF exposure in electrified vehicles worldwide. SafeFields’ technology uses active cancellation and advanced signal processing to reduce magnetic fields generated by high-current vehicle systems, offering an alternative to traditional passive methods such as shielding or cable rerouting.
SafeFields co-founders and co-CEOs Shaul Shulman and Oded Einat described the partnership as a major milestone that combines the startup’s EMF mitigation technology with Veoneer’s automotive electronics expertise and global manufacturing reach. Veoneer CEO Nik Endrud said the agreement aligns with the supplier’s broader focus on occupant safety throughout the driving experience.
The companies expect the collaboration to support future OEM integration programs and broader commercialization opportunities across global automotive markets.
AEye & MoveAWheeL Sign MOU Acoustic Tactile Intelligence
AEye, Inc. signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MoveAWheeL to evaluate the technical integration of AEye’s Apollo software-defined long-range lidar with MoveAWheeL’s acoustic-based physical AI road-surface sensing technology. The collaboration seeks to establish a dual-perception safety stack for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems and autonomous driving applications, combining long-range 3D spatial awareness with real-time tactile road friction intelligence. The non-binding agreement outlines exploratory workstreams to define technical evaluation metrics and identify initial automotive OEM and tier-one customer engagements.
The integrated architecture combines AEye’s 1550-nanometer lidar sensor, which offers object detection capabilities up to one kilometer and is engineered for behind-the-windshield packaging, with MoveAWheeL’s active acoustic sensing hardware. MoveAWheeL’s software utilizes acoustic data to estimate real-time road friction coefficients, providing predictive telemetry to optimize automated braking, acceleration, and electronic stability control algorithms. The joint development program focuses on expanding the operational design domain of automated driving platforms during adverse weather events, specifically targeting traction loss risks on rain, snow, and black ice.
MN8 Energy Brings 100 MW Pome BESS Online
MN8 Energy LLC finalized commercial operations on the Pome stand-alone battery energy storage system located in Poway, California. The 100-megawatt, 400-megawatt-hour utility-scale infrastructure asset is fully commercialized under a 10-year tolling agreement with community choice aggregator Sonoma Clean Power. The off-taker will utilize the four-hour duration lithium-ion asset to store, arbitrage, and dispatch wholesale electricity directly into the California Independent System Operator balancing authority, targeting a round-the-clock zero-carbon delivery mandate.
The 3.98-acre industrial energy installation in San Diego County scales MN8 Energy’s total active grid-tier storage capacity within the CAISO footprint to 1.5 gigawatt-hours. Engineered to mitigate regional renewable curtailment and stabilize steep net-load variations, the fast-dispatch infrastructure delivers sub-second frequency response telemetry. Fiscal models project the commercial infrastructure asset will generate $20 million in local municipal operational revenue alongside $28 million in structural property tax assessments to fund regional public school districts and municipal services over its initial decade of operation.
Solera AI Pedestrian Collision Warning for Fleets
Solera announced the launch of SmartDrive Pedestrian Collision Warning, an artificial intelligence-enabled driver assistance capability integrated into its video-based fleet safety and vehicle lifecycle management platform. The software expansion utilizes computer vision, integrated vehicle sensors, and real-time telemetry data to identify pedestrians within the vehicle’s forward path, calculating risk mitigation metrics based on localized proximity and approach velocity.
The edge-AI capability is deployed as an over-the-air software update fully compatible with existing SmartDrive SR5 hardware architectures, eliminating incremental hardware acquisition costs for fleet operators. When the system detects an imminent pedestrian collision risk, it triggers in-cab audible alerts to accelerate driver reaction times, while simultaneously capturing event video logs within the Solera Fleet Platform. These captured events undergo a multi-tiered validation process combining automated AI sorting with human-in-the-loop expert review, generating structured risk profiles used by safety managers for targeted driver coaching and liability management across high-density urban distribution routes.