Marelli, a global technology partner to the automotive industry, will exhibit key Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) technologies at Auto Shanghai 2025, including its new ProZone. This mid-range zone control unit consolidates up to three domains, including the most complex, safety-critical functions like thermal management, chassis control, and advanced propulsion. The company will be present from April 23 to May 2 at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) with a large area of its “Fast Forward. Forward Fast” booth – located in Hall 1.2H, Stand 1BF009 – devoted to SDV.
With the shift to SDV, automotive architectures are evolving from distributed systems to zonal approaches. This transformation reduces the number of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) in a vehicle from as many as 100 to fewer than 20 on average. In a zonal architecture, zone control units manage cross-domain functionality, significantly reducing weight, cost, and complexity. Consequently, OEMs are adopting different solutions, each with its own investment level and timeline.
Marelli’s broad domain expertise and ability to cover 80% of vehicle software functionality distinguish the company as a leader in the SDV space. The company’s flexible working model, marked by decoupled software, electronics hardware, and functional components, means Marelli’s products can be integrated with those from a third party, a key benefit when upgrading existing vehicle platforms. This adaptability, combined with Marelli’s projection to be the world’s largest supplier of zone control units by 2026, sets it apart from the competition. The company tailors solutions to meet OEMs precisely where they are in their SDV transition.
David Slump, President and CEO of Marelli, stated: “In the shift to Software-Defined Vehicles, Marelli is ready to support carmakers, at any pace they choose to follow. Our flexibility is founded on a customer-centric partnership model, where we listen, adapt, solve, and deliver, with a commitment to grow alongside OEMs as their needs evolve”.
Marelli’s booth at Auto Shanghai will feature a dedicated area called the ‘Velocity Zone’, demonstrating how the company’s software-defined vehicle enablement tools drive affordability and accelerate innovation. Key technologies on display include an interactive SDV configurator that allows visitors to customize their own vehicle architecture using preconfigured feature sets, and MyAvatar, an AI-powered vehicle assistant that can be customized by the driver for an immersive and engaging user experience.
At Auto Shanghai, Marelli will also premiere ProZone, a robust and versatile platform that is part of the company’s next-generation Zone Control Unit (Zones) portfolio. Zones consolidate standalone ECUs, in a centralized architecture, reducing overall cost and weight and enabling a truly software-defined system, upgradeable over time.
Specifically, ProZone combines innovation with affordability, managing up to three different domains, such as body, lighting, power distribution, diagnostics, propulsion, thermal management, ride dynamics and chassis. Alongside LeanZone and EliteZone, ProZone is part of Marelli’s scalable hardware architecture that caters to diverse market demands.
SOURCE: Marelli
