Insight: Software-Defined Vehicles and the Reshaping of Semiconductor Demand

SDV taxonomy defines three vehicle levels, revealing regional variation and highlighting how architecture shifts are already shaping semiconductor demand.

The term "software-defined vehicle" is widely used but rarely defined with precision. This Insight sets out a three-level taxonomy—Basic/proto-SDV, Gen 1 SDV, and Gen 2 SDV—that provides a more analytically useful framework than broad industry definitions and quantifies the current distribution of global light vehicle production across those levels. The Insight examines what the SDV transition means for automotive semiconductor demand, using the new TechInsights forecast model that segments demand by vehicle architecture type. The analysis reveals that the headline global picture conceals significant variation by region and device type—and that for some semiconductors, the architectural shift is already well underway.