Two Hyundai units, Jeep maker Stellantis, and four U.S. companies that supply automakers joined a growing open-source software development group for vehicle design.

The initiative, announced this week by the German automotive lobby group VDA at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, now numbers more than 30 companies across the U.S., Europe and Asia. It targets “next-generation” auto technology and is designed to achieve greater efficiency.  

VDA, or the Association of the Automotive Industry, said the collaboration could cut software development and maintenance “efforts” by as much as 40%, “freeing up engineering capacity for innovative development,” and make for a 30% faster time to get products to market, among other goals.

Hyundai’s autonomous driving and parts and service arms and Stellantis were among the 21 participants signing up to the initiative, along with U.S. companies Cummins, Lear, Qualcomm and Red Hat. They join founders that include BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen.

“The growing participation in this collaboration reflects a clear global shift toward open innovation in the automotive industry,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive drector of the Eclipse Foundation, which is leading the initiative with VDA. “Industry leaders [recognize] that trusted, open source foundations are essential to delivering the next generation of safe, intelligent, and connected vehicles.”

The initiative got off the ground last June with the idea of cutting fragmentation and sharing “the burden of developing complex, safety critical software,” VDA said.

“Through joint development of non-differentiating software, manufacturers and suppliers can focus their resources on what truly matters: delivering unique, customer-centric experiences,” said VDA Managing Director Marcus Bollig.

DIG DEEPER: China at the Wheel