Japan sets bold targets for Software-Defined Vehicles
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism says it wants the country to grab 30% of global SDV sales by 2030.
An SDV can be described as an electronic device on wheels – a vehicle whose features and functions are enabled primarily through software, rather than hardware. This means it can support huge advances in infotainment, telematics, diagnostics and more.
All the big car makers are pouring resources into the space. Clearly, Japan doesn't want to get left behind (as it has in consumer entertainment electronics for example). Hence these new government targets. Specifically, it wants Japan to account for 30% of the 35 million to 41 million global SDV sales in 2030 (about 11 million to 12 million units), and 17 million to 19 million SDV sales by 2035.
It will subsidise the investment with USD 6.4 billion, of which USD 3.1 billion will be allocated to the Advanced SoC Research for Automotive (ASRA) to develop chiplet-based advanced automotive SoCs by 2028.
According to the ministerial plan, Japan must establish SDV R&D and verification environments and critical technologies by 2027 to lay the foundation for global competition. Other targets include the modification of self-driving trucks and support for robotaxi R&D. Japan plans to launch autonomous trucks and robotaxis services at 50 locations within the country by the end of March 2026 and increase the number to over 100 by 2028.
