The third edition of the ITS Market Radar report offers a comprehensive overview of the ITS landscape across its three sectors: Suppliers, Vehicle Manufacturers, and the Connectivity industries.
A Holistic View of Europe’s Mobility Landscape Across Suppliers, OEMs, and the Connectivity Industry
Building on the previous editions, 2024 and 2025, this final report completes ERTICO’s panoramic assessment of the wider mobility and transport ecosystem. It brings together market insights, regulatory developments, technological trends, and deployment perspectives to help guide public and private stakeholders in understanding the transformations of Europe’s mobility landscape.
A snapshot of an industry in transition
Driven by digitalisation, automation, electrification, and sustainability imperatives, ITS technologies are rapidly redefining how vehicles, infrastructure, and digital networks interact.
At the policy level, the report outlines major EU developments that are accelerating ITS deployment, ranging from the Industrial Action Plan and the Digital Decade initiatives to new automotive regulations, the AI Act, and the European Mobility Data Space. Together, these frameworks aim to harmonise standards, strengthen digital sovereignty, and enable safer, more sustainable mobility services across the continent.
“The third edition of the ITS Market Radar shows that Europe’s mobility transformation is no longer driven by individual technologies but by the convergence of software-defined vehicles, advanced connectivity and data-driven ecosystems. What clearly emerges is that deployment will depend on stronger coordination between industry sectors, supportive EU frameworks and the ability to scale trusted digital infrastructure. By bringing together insights from suppliers, vehicle manufacturers and the connectivity industry, this report helps our community understand where the real momentum lies - and where collaboration is needed most to turn innovation into operational intelligent mobility across Europe,” comments Joost Vantomme, ERTICO CEO.
Key sectors at the centre of innovation
ERTICO’s analysis focuses on its three sectors - industry pillars - and how their intersection within the mobility ecosystem helps navigate the direction of Europe’s ITS deployment:
- Suppliers: Transitioning from hardware manufacturers to software-driven system integrators, suppliers are increasingly central to advanced vehicle architectures, AI-based systems, and cybersecurity by design. Their role is expanding as vehicles evolve into high-performance, software-defined platforms.
- Vehicle manufacturers: OEMs are now full system orchestrators - integrating automation, connectivity, V2X capabilities, and over-the-air updates into next-generation vehicles. The report notes rapid progress in Level 2+ automation, strategic moves toward Level 3, and targeted Level 4 deployments in freight and urban mobility.
- Connectivity industry: Telecommunications and network providers are becoming the backbone of ITS, enabling real-time vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, and cloud services. The report highlights 5G/6G evolution, edge computing, digital twins, and the urgent need for EU-wide V2X mandates.
Top cross-sector trends shaping the future
The ITS Market Radar identifies several transformative trends gaining momentum across the three analysed sectors. These trends reflect a collective move towards a seamlessly connected, intelligent mobility ecosystem:
- Cybersecurity by design and trusted data sharing
- Software-defined vehicles (SDV) and centralised computing
- Automation pathways (L2+, L3, targeted L4)
- Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication and interoperability
- AI-enabled predictive systems and digital twins
- Cloud/edge architecture for real-time mobility operations
- EV charging, electrification scalability, and sustainability-driven innovation
Human capital under pressure
The report reveals that while ITS roles account for a small share of organisational workforces, they are strategically critical. Rising demand for software engineers, AI experts, cybersecurity specialists, and data scientists is creating a significant skills gap. Vehicle manufacturers face the greatest employment pressure, balancing digital transformation with cost constraints, while suppliers and connectivity providers anticipate modest growth in ITS roles.
Deployment outlook: 2026–2028
The period from 2026 to 2028 is set to be a decisive phase for ITS deployment in Europe, marked by the expansion of cross-border CAV corridors and sandbox environments, a rapid increase in urban autonomous shuttle pilots, and the wider rollout of Level 3 automated driving across key markets. Alongside this, large-scale investment in batteries, electrification, and software-defined vehicle platforms is expected to accelerate technological maturity, while the adoption of standardised OTA, cybersecurity, and data access frameworks will provide the regulatory and operational support needed for safe, interoperable, and scalable intelligent mobility services across the continent.
Persistent challenges and how to overcome them
Despite clear momentum, the ITS ecosystem still faces a series of entrenched challenges: from fragmented standards and limited cross-sector cooperation to funding constraints, unclear business models in connectivity, and regulatory frameworks that struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies. These challenges are further compounded by insufficient data quality and accessibility for testing and validation, a shortage of specialised technical skills, and the absence of strong political mandates needed to accelerate V2X deployment.
To move forward, the report calls for a more coordinated approach built on harmonised EU-level incentives, strengthened data governance, deeper public-private partnerships, shared testbeds, and collaborative platform frameworks that can align stakeholders, reduce fragmentation, and create the foundations for scalable, interoperable ITS deployment across Europe.
Driving innovation through collaboration
ERTICO’s extensive network, including over 120 organisations from eight sectors, is a central cornerstone for the successful deployment of future mobility innovations. The report highlights strategic alliances with European and global partners, as well as flagship projects, such as IN2CCAM, CERTAIN, CHORUS, SMARTIN, PRIVATEER, PODIUM, and DeployEMDS, that contribute to advancing safety assurance, digital infrastructure, mobility data spaces, and next-generation connectivity.
Access the full report: ITS Market Radar report 2026
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