At the close of 2023, I penned a blog reflecting on the year with month-by-month highlights. This year, I am continuing that tradition by sharing some of the standout highlights from 2024!

Another Record-breaking CES and Alignment with the European Commission SDV Initiative

The COVESA Showcase event at CES 2024 again broke records for attendance and participation with over 2,200 attendees and 77 tables/booths, reaffirming its status as a “must-attend” event for many automotive organizations. The SDV Alliance, a collaboration of AUTOSAR, COVESA, Eclipse SDV, and SOAFEE, was successfully launched at the event.

Early in 2024, COVESA’s work gained prominence by aligning with the European Commission initiative Software Defined Vehicle of the Future (SDVoF). Member companies, such as BMW, Bosch, and RemotiveLabs, began aligning major COVESA initiatives like the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) into the roadmap for future SDV development. Since then, COVESA has been firmly planted into several workstreams within this significant European project.

COVESA also welcomed Forvia to the Board of Directors during our March Annual Board Meeting and, later in the year, welcomed new Charter member Harman to the Board.

A Return to Gothenburg, Award Program Unveiling, and Commercial Vehicle Work Gains Steam

Nearly a decade after GENIVI visited Gothenburg, COVESA returned to the city to host its Spring AMM, which brought together 265 participants. COVESA appreciated presentations from Volvo Cars, who have since joined as a COVESA Member. Additionally, COVESA announced the return of a previous tradition of awarding significant contributions to and adoptions of COVESA outputs.  During the event, Mavi.io, Renesas, and Tietoevry received awards for demonstrating COVESA technologies in their products and services.

Gothenburg had its advantages, offering proximity to a strong commercial vehicle and fleet management community. Workshops held at that event paved the way for the creation of the Commercial Vehicle Expert Group, which has since engaged truck OEMs and other fleet management organizations in the work of extending VSS for commercial vehicle purposes.

New Website, Insightful White Papers, and a Trip to Japan

Late in Q2, COVESA unveiled an enhanced website featuring better-organized content and highlights of key activities. This update reflected two Board-approved white papers describing the purpose of COVESA and the importance of the VSS. The new website has significantly boosted traffic to COVESA information. Coupled with the Marketing Team’s outstanding efforts, it has delivered a steady flow of information on the alliance and activities.

June was a busy month that included a great Showcase event at AutoTech: Detroit as well as a productive trip to Japan to meet with JasPar leadership and important Japan-based organizations. Following these efforts, COVESA has since welcomed Nissan Motor Company as a new member.

How COVESA Operates and New AOSP Code Development

In early fall, the COVESA Board published a white paper, “Solving Challenges Through Member-driven and Business-focused Collaboration,” which answers how COVESA operates, and the value of its collaborative approach.

In parallel, the Automotive AOSP App Framework Group launched a new code development project called “Unified Push Notifications.” This project, currently entering phase 3, was funded by COVESA members and provides a common service/protocol for 3rd parties like Zoom to provide push notifications in AOSP. The project will result in a reference implementation, distributor application, client library, and documentation.

Fall AMM and Membership Growth

COVESA gathered in the Detroit area in late September for its fall All Member Meeting where over 325 participants had the opportunity to attend 52 unique program sessions, covering business to technical topics.  Contributor/Adoption awards were given to aicas and RemotiveLabs during the showcase event.

2024 also marked a milestone with 36 new members joining COVESA.  These included three new OEMs, several Tier 1 suppliers, and key technology companies focused on connected vehicles. This was a banner year for COVESA in many ways, and much of the credit goes to you, the Contributing Member!

Wishing You Happy Holidays

It’s been an amazing year, and as we close out 2024, I want to wish you all a happy holiday season!

We hope to see you in Las Vegas for COVESA’s CES Showcase and Reception on January 7, 2025 (6:00-9:00 pm PT) at the Bellagio Ballroom. For more details and steps to pre-register, please contact Mike Nunnery.

– Steve Crumb, Executive Director, COVESA