AUDI, BMW, Daimler, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm have launched the 5G Automotive Association.

The association will develop, test and promote communications solutions, support standardization and accelerate commercial availability and global market penetration. The goal is to address society’s connected mobility and road safety needs with applications such as connected automated driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart cities and intelligent transportation.

With next generation 5G mobile networks and continued strong LTE evolution, which includes Cellular Vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication, the companies believe the focus of information and communication technologies is shifting towards the Internet of Things and the digitalization of industries.

As an evolution to today’s networks, next generation mobile networks are expected to handle much more data volume, connect many more devices, significantly reduce latency and bring new levels of reliability. For example, 5G can better support mission-critical communications for safer driving and will further support enhanced vehicle-to-everything communications and connected mobility solutions.

These new solutions bring new technological and business opportunities for both the automotive and ICT industries, and the members of the association said they will collaborate to realize the full potential together. The association will address key technical and regulatory issues, leveraging next generation mobile networks and integrating vehicle platforms with connectivity, networking and computing solutions.

Its main activities will include defining and harmonizing use cases, technical requirements and implementation strategies; supporting standardization and regulatory bodies, certification and approval processes; addressing vehicle-to-everything technology requirements, such as wireless connectivity, security, privacy, authentication, distributed cloud architectures and more; and running joint innovation and development projects leading to integrated solutions, interoperability testing, large scale pilots and trial deployments.

The Association said it welcomes more partners who are engaged in the automotive industry, the ICT industry or the broader ecosystem and value chain for vehicle and road transportation systems. Several companies have already expressed strong support for the 5GAA and declared their intent to join the Association in the near future. The Association will support and work in close cooperation with national and regional initiatives, such as the European Connected & Automated Driving Pre-Deployment Project.

“The 5G Automotive Association is the latest example of Nokia’s close relationship with the automotive industry to make the driverless car a reality and unleash a whole new era in automotive innovation,” said Dr. Marc Rouanne, chief innovation & operating officer at Nokia. “Cloud, communications and networking technologies and innovations have the potential to transform the car into a fully connected device to revolutionize the driver experience and address society’s mobility needs.”