The agreement was announced during a Honda press conference held at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 7.
Honda is developing original Smart Vehicles (SDVs) to deliver an optimized mobility experience for each individual customer in the Honda 0 Series. The Honda 0 Series will adopt a centralized electronic control (E/E) architecture that combines multiple electronic control units (ECUs) responsible for managing vehicle functions into a single ECU. The central ECU, which serves as the heart of the SDV, manages essential vehicle functions such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving (AD), powertrain control, and comfort features—all within a single ECU. To achieve this, the ECU requires a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) that provides higher processing performance than traditional systems while minimizing any increase in power consumption.
Renesas is committed to providing automotive semiconductor solutions that enable OEMs to develop SDVs. Renesas' R-Car solutions offer enhanced AI performance with customization capabilities by leveraging multi-die chiplet technology*3 and integrating AI accelerators*4 into their SoCs.
To realize Honda's vision for SDVs, Honda and Renesas partnered to develop a high-performance SoC computing solution designed for central ECUs. Utilizing TSMC's 3nm automotive process technology, this SoC also achieves significant power consumption reductions. Furthermore, it implements a system that utilizes multi-die chiplet technology to combine Renesas' fifth-generation (Gen 5) R-Car X5 series of generic SoCs with an AI accelerator optimized for AI software independently developed by Honda. With this combination, the system aims to achieve industry-leading AI performance with energy efficiency. The chiplet SoC solution will provide the AI performance needed for advanced functions such as AD, while maintaining low power consumption. Chiplet technology allows for the flexibility to create customized solutions and offers future upgrades for functional and performance enhancements.
Honda and Renesas have collaborated closely for many years. This agreement will accelerate the integration of advanced semiconductor and software innovations into Honda's 0 Series, enhancing the customer mobility experience.
