Why Testing Is Key in the Tech-Driven Reinvention of the Automotive Industry
Apr 30, 2026- Modern vehicles are turning into a convergence of software, electronics, and connectivity.
- Testing and certification have become strategic enablers of the new automotive landscape with measurable impact on safety, market growth, and consumer trust.
The automotive industry is undergoing one of the most profound transformations in its history. What was once a predominantly mechanical domain, centered on engines, transmissions, and chassis engineering, is rapidly evolving into a highly integrated ecosystem defined by electronics, software, and connectivity. This change is reshaping the entire value chain across three critical dimensions. Electrification is accelerating the global energy transition, digitalization—driven by software and AI—is redefining traditional business models, and advances in connectivity and autonomy are revolutionizing the user experience on the road.
This shift is already visible in market data. Electric vehicles accounted for roughly 22% of global new car sales in 2024, and in 2025, global EV registrations reached 20.7 million vehicles. At the same time, the ADAS market is expanding at an estimated 15–25% annual growth rate. In 2024, industry research estimated that about 68.6 % of globally sold vehicles met SAE Level 1 or higher criteria, meaning they offered at least one standardized assisted‑driving feature such as adaptive cruise control or lane‑keeping. While more recent data is forthcoming, this scenario already suggests that a large majority of new cars sold include some form of advanced driver assistance.
In addition, the global number of vehicles using connectivity technologies will be more than double over the next decade, from 876 million at the end of 2025 to an estimated 2.1 billion by the end of 2035. In 2025, 4.3% of all Internet of Things connections were Vehicle Head Units and by 2035, it is expected to reach 4.6%. Together, these trends indicate a clear transition toward a fully technology-driven mobility ecosystem.
Testing and Certification: Driving Trust Across Mobility Technologies
As vehicles become increasingly electrified, connected, automated, and software-driven, testing and certification have become strategic enablers that impact market growth, safety, and consumer trust. The industry’s rapid pace of transformation is inseparable from how effectively it manages advances and complexity through rigorous evaluation and validation to ensure interoperability, compliance, and, most importantly, safety across the different components and technologies that work together.
At the core of this automotive revolution lies the convergence of five major technological domains: ADAS, e-mobility, connectivity, cybersecurity, and electromagnetic compatibility and radiofrequency (EMC & RF). Each of these pillars is advancing on its own trajectory, but their real impact on the automotive industry emerges from how tightly they are now interlinked.
ADAS, Paving the Way for Autonomy
ADAS have moved from optional features to central elements of vehicle architecture. ADAS is no longer just about safety, it is the foundation of autonomous driving. Modern vehicles now integrate an average of 10–15 cameras, 5–10 radar units, and multiple ultrasonic sensors, supported by 20–50 electronic control units (ECUs) running software in real time. These systems generate and process hundreds of gigabytes of sensor data per day per vehicle, enabling adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, and other advanced functionalities.
The result is a dramatic increase in electronic content per vehicle, which also introduces new challenges regarding safety, security, and interoperability across all vehicle components. Addressing these challenges requires meticulous testing and validation to ensure ADAS systems perform reliably under all conditions, combining controlled proving ground testing with open road testing perform in real-world scenarios to evaluate system responses with precision before commercializing.
E-mobility, a Structural Change in Automotive
In parallel, electrification —or e-mobility— is redefining not only the powertrain but the entire vehicle and energy ecosystem. Compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs incorporate significantly higher levels of electronic and software-driven functionality, enabling capabilities such as over-the-air updates, real-time energy optimization, and seamless integration with digital and grid ecosystems. This change represents a transition from a mechanical product to a software-defined, energy-connected platform.
Continuing this transformation depends on performing thorough testing and certification within the e-mobility ecosystem. While EV fire incidents remain relatively low (around 25 per 100,000 vehicles), the combination of high energy density, high power charging, and system interconnectivity increases the complexity of risk scenarios. In parallel, with over 4 million public EV chargers deployed globally and around 85 million EVs on the road, ensuring interoperability, electrical safety, and reliable communication between vehicles and infrastructure is critical for a seamless user experience.
At the same time, demand for batteries is rising sharply, not just for EVs but also for consumer devices, energy storage systems, and other applications. This puts pressure on manufacturers to scale production while improving durability and lifespan. In this environment, smarter validation approaches are becoming necessary. DEKRA and Sphere offer a solution based on AI-driven battery validation helping manufacturers test smarter, faster and trusted. This approach, that redefines battery validation, supports the entire development process, making battery validation, testing and certification more efficient while maintaining safety and compliance.
Connectivity, Accelerating Automotive Innovation
Connectivity has become a foundational layer of mobility, integrating vehicles with digital ecosystems and physical infrastructure. Today, tens of millions of vehicles are connected, and projections suggest that this number will surpass 400 million by 2030. Vehicles are being transformed from isolated products on the road, into networked systems integrating multiple connectivity technologies to enable communication with users, infrastructure, and digital services. These include cellular networks such as 4G and 5G for wide-area data exchange, as well as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies like C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) and DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communications), which allow vehicles to interact with other vehicles, infrastructure, and pedestrians.
In addition, short-range technologies, such as, Bluetooth®, UWB, Wi-Fi®, and NFC, enable user interaction, while GNSS provides precise positioning. Internally, in-vehicle networks such as CAN and Ethernet connect electronic systems. Vehicles also use technologies supporting functionalities like Digital Car Key and CarPlay functionalities. Together, these and many other technologies are creating a connected mobility ecosystem, enabling safer, smarter, and more efficient transportation.
However, the combination of the different connectivity technologies introduces significant complexity and challenges in the automotive landscape, particularly in system integration, interoperability and data management, which require exhaustive testing and certification to ensure the entire ecosystem operates smoothly, reliable and can evolve toward a globally connected driving environment.
Cybersecurity, an Indispensable Pillar in the New Mobility Era
A mobility ecosystem that is increasingly connected and software-defined is also more exposed to cyberattacks. In 2025, the automotive sector experienced a marked escalation in cyber threats, with vehicles and mobility services becoming prime targets for attackers. Most attacks, over 90 %, were carried out remotely without physical access, highlighting how digital connectivity widens exposure across vehicles, telematics, cloud backends and APIs. In fact, surveys found that only about 19% of connected car owners felt very confident their vehicle was secure, while 76 % feared remote cyber intrusions could endanger lives.
Cybersecurity in the mobility ecosystem is transitioning from a differentiating feature in vehicles to a regulatory requirement. Standards such as UNECE WP.29 and ISO/SAE 21434 require manufacturers to integrate security by design throughout the vehicle lifecycle, including secure communication, intrusion detection, and robust software update mechanisms.
Therefore, as connectivity continues to grow, cybersecurity is establishing itself as a fundamental pillar of automotive engineering, essential not only for regulatory compliance but also for ensuring security, digital trust and enabling the expansion of the connected mobility ecosystem.
EMC & RF Testing, the Unseen Backbone of the Automotive Ecosystem
Often overlooked but equally essential is electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and radiofrequency (RF). As vehicles incorporate more electronic systems, particularly high-frequency and high-voltage components, the risk of electromagnetic interference increases significantly. EMC & RF testing ensures that all electronic systems within a vehicle can operate together without causing or being affected by electromagnetic interference, protecting both vehicle functionality and passenger safety, and that these systems operate reliably, maintaining signal integrity, sensor accuracy, and safe vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
The growing density of sensors, the introduction of automotive Ethernet, and the proliferation of wireless technologies such as radar, V2X communication, and wireless charging, contribute to a more complex electromagnetic environment. While the EMC market grows at a more moderate pace compared to cybersecurity or ADAS, its importance is absolute: without EMC and RF compliance, vehicles cannot be homologated, and connected mobility ecosystems cannot function safely.
Managing Complexity in the Evolving Automotive Ecosystem
What makes this transformation particularly challenging is the interdependence of these domains. ADAS relies on connectivity for data exchange and updates. Connectivity increases the attack surface, necessitating robust cybersecurity. Electrification introduces new EMC challenges due to high-voltage switching and power electronics. Each domain amplifies the complexity of the others.
From a strategic standpoint, the automotive industry is shifting from a product-centric model to a platform-centric one. Vehicles are increasingly defined by their software architecture, with hardware serving as an enabler rather than the primary source of differentiation. This new reality is also altering the competitive landscape. Traditional OEMs now compete and collaborate with technology companies, semiconductor manufacturers, and software providers.
The same transformation applies to testing and certification. Today, a vehicle must undergo not only traditional automotive evaluations—such as crash testing, environmental testing and endurance testing—but also the wide range of tests required for connected components, software functionality and cybersecurity.
The automotive sector is now a highly technological and multidisciplinary ecosystem where electronics, software, and connectivity form the core of every vehicle. ADAS, e-mobility, connectivity, cybersecurity, and EMC are interdependent forces, each influencing the others and collectively driving a systemic transformation. Success in this environment requires not only innovative technologies but also thorough testing and certification to ensure safety, reliability, and scalability across the entire mobility ecosystem.