In January 2026, the European Commission published the Joint EU Vision on Research and Innovation for the Technological Competitiveness of the EU Automotive Sector. This strategic document guides research and innovation actions for achieving a green and digital transition whilst boosting Europe's automotive competitiveness, creating jobs and growth, and protecting the environment. This publication presents the research and innovation dimension of the EU Action Plan for the Automotive Industry, published in 2025, which addresses the urgent need to maintain Europe's industrial leadership in a sector that contributes approximately €1 trillion to EU GDP and employs 13 million Europeans.

The European automotive sector stands at a critical juncture, undergoing rapid transformation driven by the shift towards clean mobility and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, software-defined vehicles, sensing, and communication systems. The Joint Vision emerges from the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the European Automotive Industry, which brought together industry, social partners, Member States, and European institutions.

• The document aligns private and public sector strategies to strengthen Europe's position through greater value creation, requiring coordinated approaches to close the innovation gap and maintain technological sovereignty in key technologies.
• Four strategic objectives frame the Vision: accelerating automotive innovation by reducing time to market by 40%; increasing research capacity to enhance R&I capabilities for competitive automotive value chains throughout Europe; fostering digital innovation through artificial intelligence, software-defined vehicles, in-vehicle computing, connectivity, automation, and data-driven solutions; and integrating sustainability, affordability, and environmental performance throughout the value chain addressing carbon neutrality, life cycle assessment, circular economy, and resilience.
• This publication supports the establishment of a Future Automotive Partnership Joint Undertaking, the largest public-private research and innovation partnership in the automotive industry, pooling and aligning resources from industry and public funding across the entire value chain.

This Joint Vision positions research and innovation as central to Europe's automotive transformation, recognising that technological leadership determines both the achievement of climate goals and the maintenance of industrial competitiveness. The connected and automated mobility emphasis, supported through the CCAM Partnership and the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance, ensures coordinated development of shared platforms, standards, and regulatory frameworks essential for large-scale deployment.

Source: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/d6b2f6f5-f5af-11f0-b9bc-01aa75ed71a1/language-en