Aptiv and Harman are Leaders in ABI Research’s Automotive Digital Cockpit Domain Controller Competitive Ranking

The new Competitive Assessment by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an in-depth and unbiased examination of the solutions offered by eleven digital Cockpit Domain Controller (CDC) solution providers. The analysis focused on eleven criteria segmented across innovation and implementation. These include the consolidation of cockpit domains, accommodation of Over-the-Air (OTA) updates, modularity, full-stack provision, component compatibility, investment in the digital cockpit, regional coverage, number of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners, scalability, and time to market.

The companies evaluated and ranked are:

Market Leaders: Aptiv, Harman
Mainstream: Visteon, Bosch, ECARX, Continental
Followers: Marelli, Faurecia Clarion, LG, Panasonic, DENSO

“Tier One suppliers are adapting to trends in the industry at differing paces, with some taking initiative to build partnerships and make strategic investments into key enabling technologies for the digital cockpit domain controller, while others still offer piecemeal solutions that lack strong positioning around key features that OEMs want. These features of interest include robust consolidation of safety-critical and non-critical domains, flexibility and freedom of component selection, and future-proofed hardware with flexible software,” explains Abu Miah, Smart Mobility and Automotive Analyst at ABI Research. “A balanced approach of enabling simpler implementation through modularity, with strong investment into technical innovation, is a hallmark of the top performers in this competitive assessment.”

Aptiv came out on top in the competitive assessment, leading in the innovation criteria with a high level of domain consolidation with robust virtualization and isolation, strong facilitation of OTA updates, and a high level of provision across the accompanying technology stack for CDCs. Aptiv scored very well in implementation, placing second, with strengths in their solution scalability and number of customers.

Harman came second in the competitive assessment, ranking second in the innovation criteria due to its strength in modularity and component agnosticism. It placed first in implementation due to significant regional coverage, partnerships with OEMs across the globe, and a scalable solution set that allows OEMs to address multiple vehicle segments with their digital CDC platforms.

Tier Ones have varied in speed and execution in accommodating OEMs’ changing priorities for their vehicle compute architecture. “Acquisitions and partnerships with technology providers across the CDC stack is one way mainstream vendors can improve their standing in the ecosystem, offering tighter integration with other parts of the digital cockpit. Followers should focus on expanding their CDC offerings with strong positioning around secure and robust consolidation of domains, flexible and component agnostic platform design, and scalability to widen their value proposition to OEMs beyond a single vehicle segment,” Miah concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Automotive Digital Cockpit Domain Controller Tier One Suppliers competitive ranking report. This report is part of the company’s Smart Mobility and Automotive research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Competitive Ranking reports offer a comprehensive analysis of implementation and innovation strategies to provide unparalleled insight into a company’s performance and standing compared to its competitors.