The leap from software in vehicles to software-defined vehicles has been remarkably swift -- and this technological shift is hitting nearly every global market at once. Once a supporting actor, software has quickly become the main engine of modern vehicles. The leap from software in vehicles to software-defined vehicles has been remarkably swift -- and this technological shift is hitting nearly every global market at once. In various ways, vehicles around the world are becoming like mobile phones with integrated software that updates periodically. As a consequence, the consumer experience can be rapidly improved with software without changing the vehicle. Key Points - Software-defined vehicles are rapidly transforming cars into connected computing platforms capable of continuous updates and upgrades. - McKinsey expects automotive software and electronics to reach a $519 billion global market by 2035. - Level 2 or higher automated vehicles could represent nearly 70 per cent of global sales by 2035. - Connected vehicles face growing cybersecurity risks as cloud connectivity, AI and over-the-air updates expand attack surfaces. - Ransomware accounted for 44 per cent of documented automotive cyberattacks, more than doubling since 2024. Software-Defined Vehicles Rise The focus on software, including artificial intelligence (AI), has prompted a deep change in vehicle manufacturing. 'The automotive industry is undergoing its most challenging transformation in over a century,' says a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Vehicles are rapidly evolving into software-defined systems anchored by centralised compute, modular architectures, and continuous updates. This shift decouples hardware from software lifecycles, dramatically redistributing value among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, and tech platforms. As control pivots from isolated components to integrated software stacks, traditional roles across the value chain are being thoroughly redefined, according to the WEF. Automotive Software Market Growth For years, automakers ran on fragmented software provided by different