Zone controller development kit: Infineon and Flex target SDVs at CES 2026
Infineon Technologies and Flex say they will launch a zone controller development kit at CES 2026, aimed at speeding up early hardware and software work for software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and their next-generation electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures. Rather than treating a zonal controller as a one-off design for each platform, the pair is pitching a modular approach that can be scaled up or pared back depending on the number and mix of loads, networks and peripherals a given vehicle needs.
Zone controller development kit in practice
The companies’ approach is based on reusable “building blocks” (around 30, by their count) that can be combined into different zone control unit (ZCU) configurations in shorter development cycles. The intent is to give OEMs and Tier suppliers a clearer path from evaluation hardware to a production-ready implementation, while keeping “headroom” for future variants without carrying unnecessary cost in today’s bill of materials.
Infineon says the platform can be configured to support well over 50 power distribution channels, 40 connectivity channels and 10 load-control channels for rapid evaluation and early application development. For higher-end ZCU variants that need more I/O and compute, there’s also an optional dual-MCU plug-on module; the suggested workflow is to start with a superset and then reduce components to hit cost targets without stalling the programme.
What the zone controller development kit is built to cover
On the functional side, Infineon and Flex highlight protection and switching features you would expect to validate early in a zonal design: I2t protection, overcurrent and overvoltage protection, capacitive load switching and reverse-polarity protection. They also call out secure data routing using hardware accelerators, A/B swap support for over-the-air updates, and cybersecurity measures intended to align with SDV requirements.
The pre-validated hardware is built around Infineon’s automotive portfolio, including AURIX microcontrollers, OPTIREG power supplies, PROFET and SPOC smart power switches, and MOTIX motor-control parts. On the software side, the stack includes contributions from Vector, tying the kit to widely used embedded development, test and integration workflows.
Availability and where to see it at CES
Pre-orders are already open via Infineon’s FlexZoneXTM page, and shipments are currently expected towards the end of calendar Q1 2026. Infineon also points visitors to its meeting room at LVCC West W307 during CES 2026 for more detail. For background, eeNews Europe previously covered the underlying platform concept in an earlier report, and you can find broader related coverage on the Infineon tag page.
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