Schaeffler and Qorix Join Forces to Build Open Software-Defined Vehicle Platforms

Schaeffler is pairing its hardware know-how with Munich-based Qorix to co-develop and market software-defined vehicle platforms aimed at central computing architectures. Under the arrangement, Schaeffler contributes cross-domain controllers and safety-critical vehicle functions, while Qorix supplies its Performance middleware, which handles deterministic communication and lifecycle management and complies with the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

The partnership illustrates a broader realignment among automotive suppliers. As carmakers collapse dozens of distributed electronic control units into a handful of central computers, the balance of value shifts toward software — leaving hardware-focused specialists in need of software partners to round out their offerings. Rather than building everything in-house, Schaeffler is choosing to integrate an outside middleware layer into its own platform stack.

A key element of the collaboration is a shared commitment to Eclipse S-CORE, an open-source framework for software-defined vehicles that allows code to be carried over between model generations. The two companies are betting that automakers, increasingly reluctant to lock themselves into a single supplier’s proprietary stack, will favor a common software foundation they can reuse and adapt over time. That reuse potential could lower development costs and shorten timelines as vehicles become more software-centric.

Schaeffler frames the move as foundational. “With our platform and integration expertise, Schaeffler is laying the foundation for central software-defined vehicle architectures,” said Thomas Stierle, Chief Executive of Schaeffler’s E-Mobility division. He added that Qorix complements that base with production-ready middleware and a strong open-source approach, which should help the partners bring scalable solutions to market faster and more efficiently.

The first jointly developed products are destined for customer projects, though neither company has disclosed which automakers are involved or when those programs will launch. Beyond the automotive sector, Schaeffler and Qorix intend to extend the same platform work into robotics and industrial automation, hinting that the middleware and hardware combination could find buyers well outside the passenger-car market.