Infineon Technologies and Flex have announced they have taken the next step in their collaboration to accelerate the development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

At CES 2026, they say they will launch a Zone Controller Development Kit—a modular design for Zone Control Units (ZCU) engineered to fast track the development of SDV-ready E/E architectures. The companies say the new development kit follows a scalable approach and is based on reusable assets, combining approximately 30 unique building blocks. This allows developers to configure different ZCU implementations flexibly in short development cycles and offers a clear path from concept to series implementation. 

In next-generation E/E architectures, ZCUs connect and power a large number of diverse peripherals. Not all of those peripherals remain consistent across vehicle platforms and models, leading to different ZCU requirements. Current ZCUs, however, are often not optimised for the specific use case or vehicle platform in which they are used.

With the development kit’s building block concept, developers can right size their designs for many individual implementations while preserving feature headroom for future models. This reduces the bill of materials and shortens development cycles. The design platform allows OEMs to realise well over 50 power distribution, 40 connectivity, and 10 load control channels for rapid evaluation and early application development. A dual MCU plug-on module is available for high end ZCU implementations where high I/O density and computational power are paramount. This flexibility enables customers to start with the superset, then optimise to either two cost effective MCUs or a single MCU based on feature and budget requirements. This approach aligns with the platform’s guiding principle: start with the superset, then reduce components to optimise for cost without compromising quality or programme velocity. 

Infineon and Flex’s Zone Controller Development Kit can enable all essential zone control functions, including I2t (ampere-squared seconds), overcurrent protection, overvoltage protection, capacitive load switching, reverse polarity protection, secure data routing with hardware accelerators, A/B swap for over-the-air software updates, and cybersecurity. The pre-validated hardware combines best in class automotive semiconductor components from Infineon, including AURIX microcontrollers, OPTIREG power supply, PROFET and SPOC smart power switches, MOTIX motor control solutions and other products with Flex’s design, integration, and industrialisation expertise. The software stack includes contributions by Vector to leverage widely adopted tooling and know how in embedded software, testing and integration.

For more information, please visit https://www.infineon.com/evaluation-board/FlexZoneXTM 

View PDF