At the beginning of 2026, AUTOSAR officially appointed the chair team for the new term of office from January to December 2026.
Thomas Rüping is once again taking on the role of AUTOSAR Chairman. He is a member of the AUTOSAR Steering Committee, where he represents Robert Bosch GmbH. Rüping has many years of experience within the organization and previously served as Chairperson in 2023 and 2025 and as Deputy Chairperson in 2024. He will continue to be supported by Ralf Schneider as Deputy Chairperson. Schneider has been a member of the Steering Committee since 2023 and represents Mercedes-Benz AG.
Christian Nickl will take on the role of spokesperson for the AUTOSAR Project Leader Team. He has been a member of the Project Leader Team since 2018 and represents AUMOVIO.
The management team is complemented by Joachim Langenwalter (photo), who was recently appointed AUTOSAR spokesperson. Langenwalter is the founder and CEO of TMT CoPilots and has more than 30 years of experience in automotive system development, software platforms, and organizational transformation. In his new role, he will support the strategic direction and communication of the AUTOSAR partnership and accompany its further development toward open, software-centric collaboration.
Against this backdrop, the AUTOSAR partnership will also enter a new development phase at the beginning of 2026. A visible sign of this new phase is the expansion of the circle of core partners. With DENSO, Huawei, and Vector SDV Solutions, further internationally leading companies are joining the partnership. At the same time, AUTOSAR is promoting CAPI, a practice-oriented, code-centric approach that improves interoperability and consistency in the implementation of the Adaptive Platform without compromising functional safety and cybersecurity.
Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt liegt auf der konsequenten Umsetzung von AIDV- (AI-Defined Vehicles)-Konzepten. Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Fahrzeugherstellern, Zulieferern, Halbleiterunternehmen und Tool-Anbietern wird gezielt intensiviert, um abgestimmte Lösungen in messbare, industriell skalierbare Ergebnisse zu überführen.
A key milestone in this development is the AUTOSAR Open Conference (AOC) on June 10 and 11, 2026, in Shanghai. In one of the world’s most important automotive markets, AUTOSAR will showcase executable applications based on CAPI and the Adaptive Platform. (oe)
