Infineon Technologies AG showcased at CES 2025 a new modular zone controller design platform for software-defined vehicles (SDVs) from its new automotive design partner Flex. The platform is a scalable zone control unit (ZCU) with a modular microcontrol unit (MCU) architecture and common hardware building blocks.

The automotive-grade design solution is intended for rapid ZCU implementation, enabling automakers to deliver SDVs “at scale with resilience.” The production-ready platform can be quickly adapted to automakers’ specific requirements, speeding manufacturing ramp-up and time-to-market.

“We at Infineon are very pleased to be working with Flex, whose design expertise complements our strengths,” said Hans Adlkofer, SVP Automotive Systems Group of Infineon. “The combination of our achievements in cost and performance-optimized chipsets with the flexibility and the “design house-typical” development speed enables our customers to adapt their ZCUs to their specific requirements.”

The combination of Infineon’s chipsets with Flex’s design and advanced manufacturing capabilities provides a next-generation ZCU platform with optimized power distribution, gateway, and motor-control solutions.

“As software-defined vehicles pave the way for next-generation mobility, the automotive industry must embrace partnerships that empower automakers to move faster and focus their resources on creating brand-defining experiences through software,” said Mike Thoeny, President of Automotive for Flex. “Flex’s collaboration with Infineon on advanced compute platforms exemplifies how deep ecosystem partnerships can enable automakers to launch software-defined vehicles with greater resilience and speed.”

In the rapidly evolving landscape of EEAs (electronic/electrical architectures), the automotive industry is witnessing a significant shift toward central computing architectures with functional logic centralized in a central controller. In a recent E/E architecture research report, ResearchAndMarkets.com characterizes the next generation as a “quasi-central computing + zone” architecture encompassing several key types.

The body-zonal architecture streamlines the network topology, wiring harness layout, and weight by connecting the body zone controller to the central computing unit through a high-speed Ethernet backbone network. The central computing unit consolidates functions like vehicle control, body control, and gateways.

An X-domain zonal architecture integrates the functional zone with the body zone, the X-domain employs a powerful processor unit capable of independent sensor communication and data processing within the zone.

In an SDV-optimized architecture with a centralized, service-oriented approach, the central vehicle computer assumes decision-making authority, while zonal controllers supply power and execute commands issued by the central control unit.

In future central integrated E/E architectures, communication between the central processing unit and zonal controllers takes place via Ethernet, while zonal controllers communicate with sub-ECUs, sensors, and actuators through CAN/LIN buses. This shift necessitates more powerful MCUs in zonal controllers, enabling the integration of multiple ECU functions.

Pioneering examples of this strategy cited by ResearchAndMarkets.com include the GAC Aion GA3.0 introduction of the X-Soul Architecture using NXP S32G3 as the central computing unit processor. Xpeng‘s X-EEA3.0 adopts Gigabit Ethernet as its communication backbone and leverages Renesas‘ flagship MCU based on the third-generation RXv3 CPU core. Infineon’s third-generation AURIXT TC4xx MCU family, equipped with up to six TriCoreT 1.8 embedded cores, meets the new central computing and zonal control requirements.

The new Infineon/Flex modular zone controller platform optimizes ZCU development by enabling efficient and fast implementation. Its optimized chipset from Infineon supports rapid evaluation of key component features including hardware data accelerators (date routing engine/can routing engine), sequential diagnostics, I²T protection, and SPI control, enabling early performance optimization. With endpoint-agnostic control implementation, the platform allows for the integration of a modular MCU with power distribution and actuation functions.

The reference design leverages Infineon’s product families including Aurix TC4x microcontrollers for high-performance processing and safety-critical applications, Profet power switches for efficient power distribution and management, Motix motor control ICs for precise and reliable motor control, and Optireg voltage regulators for robust and efficient power supply.

The Flex modular zone controller platform will be available to customers in 2025.