Sonatus Balances Experimentation and Reliability in Automotive Innovation

Today at Volkswagen 🚗 We operate in the industrial space and we focus on problems that need to be solved now, not at some undefined point in the future. The reality is: for many challenges, there is still no convincing solution on the market. What makes this particularly relevant: Volkswagen has conducted its own extensive market research. And even with that depth and scale, no adequate solution has been identified so far. That’s exactly why EVASIVE ROBOTICS is here today. 🦾 🦾 And one thing stood out again. Something that should be obvious, yet is often overlooked: you have to go on site and talk to the people who deal with these problems every day. ➡️ No report, no slide deck, no remote call replaces the insights you get directly on the shop floor. Today in Wolfsburg was a strong reminder of that. Yes, this first step is about validation, but not for the sake of experimentation. It’s because there is a much larger potential behind it. This is not about building another trade show demo. Many things look promising at exhibitions, but very few actually work reliably in real industrial environments. That’s where we focus. Real problems. Real conditions. Real impact. A key factor in getting us to this point has been the support from launchhub42 | The ComTech Incubator. Without this environment, we wouldn’t be where we are today. 🙏 And ultimately, it comes down to people. A big thank you to Daniel Schütz, whose commitment is helping drive innovation within the Volkswagen Group and making initiatives like this possible. 🙏 This is just the beginning. 🚀

From March 26 to 27, FPT will join Mobility Innovation Summit 2026, hosted by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), in Berlin, a two-day gathering of automotive leaders, tech experts, and policymakers to accelerate sustainable and digital mobility solutions. Visit our experts at Booth 6 to explore our latest SDV innovations, designed to help global OEMs and Tier-1s shorten release cycles and scale delivery with AI-powered engineering, through hands-on demonstrations of: 📌 Next-gen zonal architecture with integrated, award-winning AI-powered Service-Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (SOVD). 📌 Testing Agent to simplify and accelerate validation and integration for complex software systems. 📌 ASPICE Agent platform to enable AI-Driven Software Development Life Cycle from analysis through integration. 📌 Virtual Cockpit Development Platform to enable faster and parallel development in a customizable, scalable environment. 👉🏻 More about the event: https://lnkd.in/gUmGhu5Y #FPT #FPTSoftware FPT Automotive 🌏 fptsoftware.com

🚀 At the Innovation & Engineering Hub, we develop bold, market-ready digital solutions that support the Volkswagen Group and its leading brands. Since 2022, our teams have been transforming engineering and IT challenges into scalable and future-ready solutions, from next-generation vehicle software to connected factories and data-driven engineering.💡 🎥 Watch the video to learn more about us. #Innovation #Engineering #DigitalTransformation #Automotive #VolkswagenGroup #SoftwareEngineering #Mobility

This venture wasn’t killed by bad engineering but maybe bad timing? What ‘felt’ innovative in 2020 seems passé in 2026. Innovation without speed to execution = irrelevance. OEMs aren’t struggling to build technology…They’re struggling to align: - Product-market fit - Cost structure - Timing Are we over-engineering solutions the market doesn’t actually want? (see my auto start/stop system 😊) https://lnkd.in/d_eyV5zF #kellyengineering #automotiveengineering #engineeringjobs

If you’re at #AutomotiveComputingConference (#ACC) event, make sure you catch Alex Oyler from SBD Automotive. He’ll be speaking on #SDVs in a #FragmentedWorld, a topic that’s becoming very real for #OEMs and #suppliers. As SDV strategies scale #globally, the challenge isn’t just #technology anymore. It’s how to balance: • global platforms vs regional requirements • centralized architectures vs local constraints • speed of execution vs long-term flexibility If you’re #attending, recommend joining the #session and #catchingup with him after. #SDV #SoftwareDefinedVehicle #Automotive #EEArchitecture #DigitalTransformation #ConnectedCars #Mobility #AutomotiveTech #ADAS #OEM #Suppliers #AutoIndustry #Detroit #ACC2026 #BeFutureReady

A clip from the latest At The Wheel - here Joe White explains how quickly a prototype can make it to production in 🇨🇳 - let's just say it'll make your head spin! How A Seat Went From R&D to Market Fast: FORVIA #EVs #ChinaSpeed #innovation #futureofmobility

The car dealership of 2030 will not have a single salesperson on the floor. Not because they got laid off. Because the customers will not tolerate the old model any more. AI is not coming for jobs in automotive. It is coming for friction. And friction is what most dealerships are built on. The brands that understand this now are the ones building something worth attending. That is exactly why we are bringing the people shaping this shift together in one room. September 24th 2026. MIT Museum, Boston. The AI Automotive Summit. If you are in fixed ops, dealer tech, or OEM strategy and you are not thinking about this, you should be. Drop a comment. I want to know where you think the resistance is going to come from.

𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗦 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲. A few years ago, the conversation was simpler. Who had a better perception? Who could add more features? Who looked more advanced in the demo? That was the game. Lately, it feels different. The harder question is no longer just what the car can do. It’s whether the system underneath can keep carrying all of it. And that’s where the real separation is starting to happen. You can see it across the market. China is moving fast with tighter integration and shorter cycles. The US still has a big edge in autonomy, AI platforms, and software ecosystems. Europe still has deep engineering strength, but it also seems to be carrying more legacy weight. Different geographies. Same pressure. Everyone is trying to figure out how to make intelligence live inside the vehicle in a way that is updateable, reliable, and economically sustainable. That’s not just a feature problem. That’s architecture. That’s the operating model. That’s product strategy. I’ve always found this to be the most interesting part of ADAS. Because once you get past the excitement of what the feature can do, the conversation becomes much more real: Can the software evolve cleanly? Can the electronics architecture absorb what’s coming next? Can the system be validated, updated, and owned over time? Can fleets or mobility operators actually live with it at scale? That’s why I think the next winners in ADAS won’t just be the ones with better models. They’ll be the ones with better system discipline. Better hardware-software boundaries. Better lifecycle thinking. Better coordination across the ecosystem around the vehicle. In other words, the edge is moving from feature count to platform quality. That shift feels subtle when you’re watching product launches. It feels much less subtle when you’re trying to build the roadmap. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁: 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗦 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄 ��� 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁? #ADAS #SDV #AutomotiveAI #ProductStrategy #PlatformStrategy #Mobility #AutonomousVehicles #SystemArchitecture

𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗦 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲. A few years ago, the conversation was simpler. Who had a better perception? Who could add more features? Who looked more advanced in the demo? That was the game. Lately, it feels different. The harder question is no longer just what the car can do. It’s whether the system underneath can keep carrying all of it. And that’s where the real separation is starting to happen. You can see it across the market. China is moving fast with tighter integration and shorter cycles. The US still has a big edge in autonomy, AI platforms, and software ecosystems. Europe still has deep engineering strength, but it also seems to be carrying more legacy weight. Different geographies. Same pressure. Everyone is trying to figure out how to make intelligence live inside the vehicle in a way that is updateable, reliable, and economically sustainable. That’s not just a feature problem. That’s architecture. That’s the operating model. That’s product strategy. I’ve always found this to be the most interesting part of ADAS. Because once you get past the excitement of what the feature can do, the conversation becomes much more real: Can the software evolve cleanly? Can the electronics architecture absorb what’s coming next? Can the system be validated, updated, and owned over time? Can fleets or mobility operators actually live with it at scale? That’s why I think the next winners in ADAS won’t just be the ones with better models. They’ll be the ones with better system discipline. Better hardware-software boundaries. Better lifecycle thinking. Better coordination across the ecosystem around the vehicle. In other words, the edge is moving from feature count to platform quality. That shift feels subtle when you’re watching product launches. It feels much less subtle when you’re trying to build the roadmap. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁: 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗦 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄 — 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁? #ADAS #SDV #AutomotiveAI #ProductStrategy #PlatformStrategy #Mobility #AutonomousVehicles #SystemArchitecture

Rivian just made Fortune's "America's Most Innovative Companies" list for 2026, a first for the company. It's a nod to the real engineering work happening behind the scenes: zonal electronics, tighter hardware/software integration, and early self-driving AI development. The kind of foundational stuff that doesn't make headlines but matters a lot long term. https://lnkd.in/guZxZYZC