Chapter 13 - Open-Source Software

A majority of those we surveyed said they were using open-source tools and/or contribute to open-source projects in vehicle software (53%), which continued to increase this year by 3%. This steady engagement with open-source software could indicate that more developers now have the time and resources to devote to open-source projects, or are allocating those resources to remain competitive. 

For those who are not adopting open-source software or contributing to open-source projects, the most common barriers were IP concerns, increasing sharply by 14% since last year as the number-one barrier to adoption. IP concerns are challenging because they are not easy to fix, and when using open-source software, the responsibility lies with the company rather than on the software. 

It is also interesting to note that safety and security concerns are rising, while time and development resources are falling as barriers to open-source adoption/contribution.

The majority of respondents are aware of Automotive Grade Linux (46%) and Eclipse SDV Working Group (42%) open-source domain initiatives in 2026. 

The leading challenge for automotive development teams integrating open-source software with their proprietary automotive systems was security concerns (56%), similar to last year’s response and corresponding with the 6% increase in safety/security barrier to open-source adoption. 

Licensing problems were the second-most top challenge (49%), followed by a lack of long-term support (45%).