Renesas Electronics Corporation is expanding its software-defined vehicle (SDV) solution offerings centered around the fifth-generation (Gen 5) R-Car family. The latest device in the Gen 5 family, the R-Car X5H is the industry’s first multi-domain automotive system-on-chip (SoC) manufactured with advanced 3nm process technology. It is capable of simultaneously running vehicle functions across advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and gateway systems.
Renesas has begun sampling Gen 5 silicon and now offers full evaluation boards and the R-Car Open Access (RoX) Whitebox Software Development Kit (SDK) as part of the next phase of development. Renesas is also driving deeper collaboration with customers and partners to accelerate adoption. At CES 2026, Renesas will showcase AI-powered multi-domain demonstrations of the R-Car X5H in action.
The R-Car X5H leverages one of the most advanced process nodes in the industry to offer the highest level of integration, performance and power efficiency, with up to 35 percent lower power consumption than previous 5nm solutions. As AI becomes integral to next-generation SDVs, the SoC delivers powerful central compute targeting multiple automotive domains, with the flexibility to scale AI performance using chiplet extensions. It delivers up to 400 TOPS of AI performance, with chiplets boosting acceleration by four times or more. It also features 4 TFLOPS equivalent of GPU power for high-end graphics and over 1,000k DMIPS powered by 32 Arm Cortex-A720AE CPU cores and six Cortex-R52 lockstep cores with ASIL D support. Leveraging mixed criticality technology, the SoC executes advanced features in multiple domains without compromising safety.
Accelerating Automotive Innovation with an Open, Scalable RoX Whitebox SDK
To accelerate time-to-market, Renesas now offers the RoX Whitebox Software Development Kit (SDK) for the R-Car X5H, an open platform built on Linux, Android, and XEN hypervisor. Additional support for partner OS and solutions is available, including AUTOSAR, EB corbos Linux, QNX, Red Hat and SafeRTOS. Developers can jumpstart development out of the box using the SDK to build ADAS, L3/L4 autonomy, intelligent cockpit, and gateway systems. An integrated stack of AI and ADAS software enables real-time perception and sensor fusion while generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) enable intelligent human-machine interaction for next-generation AI cockpits. The SDK integrates production-grade application software stacks from leading partners such as Candera, DSPConcepts, Nullmax, SmartEye, STRADVISION and ThunderSoft, supporting end-to-end development of modern automotive software architectures and faster time to market.
“Since introducing our most advanced R-Car device last year, we have been steadfast in developing market-ready solutions, including delivering silicon samples to customers earlier this year,” Vivek Bhan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of High-Performance Computing at Renesas. “In collaboration with OEMs, Tier-1s and partners, we are rapidly rolling out a complete development system that powers the next generation of software-defined vehicles. These intelligent compute platforms deliver a smarter, safer and more connected driving experience and are built to scale with future AI mobility demands.”
“Integrating Renesas’ R-Car X5 generation series into our high-performance compute portfolio is a natural next step that builds on our existing collaboration,” said Christian Koepp, Senior Vice President Compute Performance at Bosch’s Cross-Domain Computing Solutions Division. “At CES 2026, we look forward to showcasing this powerful solution with Renesas X5H SoC, demonstrating its fusion capabilities across multiple vehicle domains, including video perception for advanced driver assistance systems.”
“Innovative system-on-chip technology, such as Renesas’ R-Car X5H, is paving the way for ZF’s software-defined vehicle strategy,” said Dr. Christian Brenneke, Head of ZF’s Electronics & ADAS division. “Combining Renesas’ R-Car X5H with our ADAS software solutions enables us to offer full-stack ADAS capabilities with high computing power and scalability. The joint platform combines radar localization and HD mapping to provide accurate perception and positioning for reliable ADAS performance. At CES 2026, we’ll showcase our joint ADAS solution.”
First Fusion Demo on R-Car X5H with Partner Solutions at CES 2026
The new multi-domain demo upscales from R-Car Gen 4 to the next-generation R-Car X5H on the RoX platform, integrating ADAS and IVI stacks, RTOS, and edge AI functionality on Linux and Android with XEN hypervisor virtualization. Supporting input from eight high-resolution cameras and up to eight displays with resolutions reaching 8K2K, the platform delivers immersive visualization and robust sensor integration for next-generation SDVs. Combined with the RoX Whitebox SDK and production-grade partner software stacks, the platform is engineered for real-world deployment covering multiple automotive domains.
Availability
Renesas is shipping R-Car X5H silicon samples and evaluation boards, along with the RoX Whitebox SDK, to select customers and partners.
