Perforce Software, in partnership with the Eclipse Foundation, has released the findings of the 2025 State of Automotive Software Development Survey. The report provides key insights into the current practices and emerging trends within the automotive software industry, including the use of open source software. The survey, conducted in Q4 2024, gathered responses from more than 650 automotive development professionals worldwide.
Key Findings
One of the primary takeaways from the report is that quality remains the top concern for automotive software professionals globally. The report also highlights a growing interest and participation in open source software (OSS) within the industry:
- 79% of respondents use open source tools and/or in-vehicle software for automotive development.
- 39% of those users actively contribute to open source projects, reflecting a 4% increase from last year.
- The percentage of professionals using OSS but not contributing dropped by 6% to 29%.
- Only 21% of respondents do not use OSS at all, a decline from 30% last year.
Growing Engagement in Open Source Software
These shifts suggest multiple possible trends:
- More developers now have the time or resources to contribute to open source projects alongside using OSS tools.
- Organisations are reallocating resources to optimise existing talent and maintain competitiveness.
- Increasing recognition of the value of open source innovation in automotive development.
Barriers to Open Source Adoption and Contribution
Despite increased engagement, challenges remain in fully integrating and contributing to open source initiatives:
- Time and development resource constraints (39%) remain the most significant barrier.
- Safety and security concerns (30%) have decreased by 7% from last year, suggesting growing confidence in the security and peer review process of OSS.
- Unclear value proposition (28%) and lack of collaboration frameworks (28%) continue to pose challenges.
Industry Awareness and Challenges for Integration
- 70% of respondents are aware of at least one open source initiative in the automotive space, including Automotive Grade Linux, Covesa, Eclipse SDV, and SOAFEE.
- Major challenges in integrating OSS solutions include:
- Security concerns (59%)
- Licensing issues (43%)
- Interoperability challenges (36%)
- Lack of long-term support (35%)
Eclipse SDV: Driving Open Source Innovation in Automotive Software
The Eclipse Foundation’s Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) Working Group is actively addressing these challenges by fostering a vibrant and robust open source ecosystem tailored to the automotive industry’s needs. Eclipse SDV provides a collaborative development framework and reliable infrastructure, helping organisations accelerate innovation and streamline the adoption of open source solutions in automotive software development.
Key benefits of Eclipse SDV include:
- Secure and scalable development environments to mitigate security and safety concerns
- A structured framework for collaboration, helping overcome interoperability issues and the lack of industry-wide collaboration models
- Long-term support and governance for open source projects, addressing concerns about sustainability and licensing challenges
- Integration with leading open source initiatives, creating a more interconnected ecosystem
- Tough leadership in the definition of processes in the OS environment to address the development of software for safety relevant applications.
The 2025 State of Automotive Software Development Survey underscores the growing role of open source software in the automotive industry. While concerns around security, licensing, and interoperability remain when integrating OSS, increasing participation in OSS and greater industry awareness suggest that open source development is becoming a more significant force in automotive innovation. Through Eclipse SDV, the Eclipse Foundation is actively working to address these challenges, providing a robust framework that enables organisations to fully leverage the power of open source software in automotive development.
For more details, the full report is available at https://www.perforce.com/resources/sca/2025-state-automotive-software-development-report .
