Munich, Germany - BMW has announced the global debut of ECUs (engine control units) with AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) in series production with the introduction of the new BMW 7 Series. The AUTOSAR system is a worldwide development partnership of automotive manufacturers, suppliers and other companies in the electronics, semiconductor and software industries.

The company confirmed that AUTOSAR will make increasing inroads into future generations of vehicles, and that its goal is to achieve 100 per cent AUTOSAR usage in all of its vehicles.

Since 2003, the AUTOSAR companies involved have worked together on the development and introduction of an open, standardized software architecture for the automotive industry, which facilitates the exchange and updating possibilities of software, and forms the basis for managing the growing complexity of electrics and electronics in vehicles. The system also improves cost efficiency while maintaining quality standards. BMW has used standardized basic software in ECUs since 2001.