First European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance meeting paves the way for ambitious industrial collaboration

The European Commission hosted the Pre-Steering Committee meeting of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA) on 28 October 2025.

The meeting, opened by Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, gathered high-level representatives from 26 leading European automotive companies and associations to define the Alliance's strategic priorities. It followed the launch of ECAVA by President Ursula von der Leyen on 12 September, as part of the Industrial action plan for the European automotive sector.

ECAVA aims to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and digital sovereignty, focusing on key technologies for the vehicle of the future. The Alliance will act as a strategic advisory forum, fostering collaboration on software, chips, AI and autonomous driving, accelerating innovation and deployment.

Participants welcomed the timely launch of ECAVA in a context of growing competition from non-European actors and geopolitical instability affecting automotive supply chains. The meeting showed a strong interest to collaborate in the following areas:

• Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV): scaling up the common open-source ecosystem, targeting rapid industrialisation, and exploring collaboration on non-differentiating building blocks in application domains like autonomous driving.
• Automotive Hardware: reinforcing capacities through enhanced cooperation on computing platforms and chiplets, in coordination with the Alliance on Processors and Semiconductor Technologies.
• Artificial Intelligence and Data: promoting the joint development of AI models and data sharing, leveraging AI Factories.
• Autonomous Vehicle Deployment: accelerating autonomous vehicle deployment under the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities initiative announced in the Apply AI strategy, as part of the large-scale cross-border testbeds announced in the Automotive Action Plan.

These activities will be taken forward by thematic ECAVA working groups. ECAVA will also provide targeted input on regulation and on upcoming initiatives such as the Large-Scale Demonstrators under the Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) Partnership, research and innovation under the next multi-annual financial framework, the Chips Act 2.0 and potential Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) on AI and on Clean, Connected and Automated Vehicles.

To support the initiative, the Commission has launched calls under the Digital Europe Programme on 4 November 2025 to fund an ECAVA Secretariat and a new collaboration platform for the vehicle of the future.

Organisations interested in joining ECAVA are invited to apply by 30 November 2025 to participate in the first wave of working groups. Many applications were already received, currently under review, showing the strong interest raised by the initiative.

Read more information:

• ECAVA page
• ECAVA Application form
• Industry Software Defind Vehicle Roadmap
• Industry Hardware Roadmap

Related topics