Qualcomm's Snapdragon "Digital Chassis" is coming to Renault cars

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Qualcomm's Snapdragon "Digital Chassis" is coming to Renault Group cars

By Corbin Davenport

Published Jan 4, 2022

Qualcomm is working on an all-in-one software and hardware package for internet-connected cars, and Renault Group is building cars with it.

The market for connected cars is continuing to heat up, with Google bringing Android Automotive to more vehicles across the world, and hardware companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek aiming to power them. Today during the company's CES 2022 conference, Qualcomm revealed that it is working with Renault Group to develop more smart cars with its Snapdragon 'Digital Chassis' technology package.

Renault Group is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world (it ranked 9th globally in 2016 in volume of cars sold). The company already has a few cars with Android Automotive, such as the latest Mégane E-TECH Electric, but now the company is working closely with Qualcomm on more integrated hardware.

Qualcomm said in its announcement, "with the aim to build a next-generation architecture that focuses on extensible and flexible vehicle architectures that are focused on addressing the evolving consumer and enterprise customer expectations, Renault Group will work with Qualcomm Technologies to leverage the Snapdragon Digital Chassis to equip upcoming Renault vehicles with the latest connected and intelligent solutions for its next generation vehicles."

The 'Digital Chassis' is a package of software and hardware products developed by Qualcomm, including network connectivity (5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vehicle-to-everything/V2X, precise positioning, and power line communications), cockpit software, driver assistance, and a 'Car2Cloud' services platform. Qualcomm says Car2Cloud allows a car to have over-the-air updates and... subscription service options. Hopefully Renault isn't planning a Toyota-like key fob remote subscription.

While Qualcomm already offered a System-on-a-Chip designs for cars (in the form of the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform), which is already used by the Mégane E-TECH Electric, the Digital Chassis is a more complete package that will show up in some future cars. Essentially, Qualcomm wants to handle all the "smart stuff" for car manufacturers, leaving companies like Renault to just worry about the rest of the vehicle.