SDV Developer Report 2025: Key Insights from Automotive Software Engineers

Table of Contents

🚗 Industry Snapshot: Software-Defined Vehicles in 2025
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The global automotive industry is accelerating toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs), fundamentally reshaping how cars are designed, built, and maintained. In this transition, embedded software developers have become central to innovation, safety, and competitiveness.

The Under The Hood: SDV Developer Report, published by QNX in September 2025, captures perspectives from 1,100 embedded automotive software developers across North America, Europe, and Asia. Drawing on insights from Justin Moon, VP of Core Product Engineering at QNX, the report reflects an industry navigating economic pressure, regulatory complexity, and rapid technological change—while remaining cautiously optimistic about the future.

🔍 Key Findings from the Developer Community
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Several themes consistently emerge across regions and roles:

Application-Layer Innovation Takes Priority
80% of respondents believe OEMs should focus innovation at the application layer rather than core infrastructure. Among VPs of Engineering, this rises to 94%, highlighting pressure to deliver customer-facing value faster.
Development Environment Gaps
Only 30% rate their development environment as “excellent,” raising concerns about productivity, developer retention, and long-term innovation capacity.
AI as a Defining Force
91% expect AI to play a major role in automotive software development within 3–5 years. On average, developers estimate AI could replace or automate 35% of current roles.
Persistent Engineering Challenges
Long development cycles, debugging complexity, system integration, scalability limits, and regulatory compliance all rank as top obstacles.
Software Recalls Drive Process Change
58% of developers report that recent software-related recalls have significantly altered their development and validation practices.

⚙️ Productivity and Development Constraints
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Developers increasingly argue that customer expectations are outpacing delivery capabilities. Key contributors include:

Regulatory delays (52%)
Inefficient development processes (44%)
Skills shortages (44%)
Unrealistic expectations in some regions (notably the UK and India)

While 56% rate their environments as “good,” regional disparities remain stark. Japan reports the lowest satisfaction levels, while the United States and Canada lead in tooling confidence.

Collaboration is widely recognized as critical, with 93% of respondents stating it is essential to successful SDV development—especially in large, distributed engineering teams.

📜 Regulatory Pressure and Compliance Reality
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Regulatory complexity continues to intensify. More than 500 new regulations impacted in-vehicle technology in 2024 alone. While 40% say regulation accelerated development timelines, 33% experienced delays.

Top regulatory pain points include:

Cybersecurity (47%)
OTA and software update compliance (40%)
Data privacy (36%)
Functional safety (36%)

Despite high overall confidence in compliance readiness (93%), senior engineering leaders express concern that regulation may lag behind technological innovation.

🛡️ Safety, Security, and Trust
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Functional safety remains foundational:

95% view it as critical to vehicle development
96% link ADAS trust directly to safety assurance

Security confidence is also high (91%), yet cybersecurity threats rank as the number-one future risk, surpassing even regulatory overload and global trade uncertainty.

Interestingly, 76% of respondents believe a minimalist, low-tech vehicle could succeed commercially—particularly in emerging markets—suggesting room for differentiated SDV strategies.

🤖 AI, Automation, and Workforce Impact
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Automation already accounts for approximately 45% of development workflows, especially in larger organizations. AI’s role is expected to grow rapidly:

36% describe AI as “transformational”
55% see it as having a significant impact
India leads in optimism, while Japan and China remain more cautious

Future skill priorities are clear:

Cybersecurity (58%)
Functional safety (53%)
AI and machine learning integration (51%)

🌍 Regional Perspectives
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Regional insights underline differing priorities:

United States: Strong focus on cybersecurity skills and application-layer innovation
Europe: Regulatory compliance dominates concerns, especially in the UK and France
India: Highest optimism for AI and strongest impact from recalls
China: Pragmatic AI outlook and relatively lower regulatory disruption
Japan: Long development cycles and skepticism toward overemphasized autonomy

🧭 Conclusion: An Industry in Transition
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The 2025 SDV Developer Report portrays an industry at a critical inflection point. While integration complexity, regulatory burden, and skills gaps persist, developers remain optimistic about AI, collaboration, and software-centric innovation.

As SDVs mature, success will depend on robust foundations, secure architectures, and developer-centric platforms. For QNX and the broader ecosystem, the message is clear: empowering developers is now a strategic imperative—not a supporting function.