eSIM connectivity drives software-defined vehicles

The automotive sector has seen profound change over the last few years. One of the biggest trends is toward software-defined vehicles, or SDVs. According to a recent Deloitte study, 81% of original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs’) fleets are expected to be software-defined by 2030.¹

A critical characteristic of an SDV is that it is connected. Software needs to be updated. An SDV would require many updates over the course of its life. 

OEMs want vehicle functionalities to be updated quickly, efficiently, and remotely. This requires robust connectivity that is both adaptable and open to management through the best platforms. This connectivity needs to be available across the vehicle’s life cycle, as updates have to be delivered remotely. A further need that has been identified is delivering better processes at the individual OEM’s production site itself. 

Certain advances in connectivity have made meeting these needs a reality. But first, let’s look at why connectivity matters as the automotive sector evolves.

The importance of secure and reliable connectivity

Among many use cases, modern vehicles – in particular SDVs – rely on connectivity to enable and run the following:

1. Telematics. By gathering a wide range of data from the vehicle, efficiencies can be plotted to lower insurance, fuel costs, and the like. Telematics are transformative in fleet management, among other applications.
2. Infotainment systems. From route planning to making hands-free calls to keeping young children happy in their seats, seamless connectivity is now almost a base requirement.
3. Frequent – and mostly invisible – software updates. All that tech in the car needs to be kept up to date, and it has to happen with a minimum of fuss. 

These are enabled by embedded SIMs, or eSIMs, and remote SIM provisioning (RSP). “Those eSIMs will require different profiles at different stages of the car’s life cycle, from production to market release to its further life on the road. There is every likelihood they will be bought and sold in a place different from where they were made,” pointed out Robert Leibfarth, Director Product Strategy at G+D. 

In the European Union, for example, vehicles may be moving frequently between different countries. Seamless connectivity can’t stop at the border of a city or a nation. Across markets and roaming regimes, eSIM profiles can be switched over IP using standardized RSP, maintaining service quality and compliance. For all these reasons, seamless connectivity is a requirement for when a car is on the move. 

Cars take time to design, and – due to their price as much as anything else – they’re meant to be long-lived. Any consideration of an automobile’s life cycle is a conversation in terms of decades. A car’s connectivity requirements need to factor that in.

At the other end of a car’s life cycle – at its “birth,” as it were – the advent of in-factory profile provisioning (IFPP) has also been a game-changer. Let’s consider how IFPP is changing how automobiles – in particular SDVs – are manufactured.

The need for IFPP

IFPP is revolutionizing the larger IoT sphere by ensuring devices are “born connected.” It allows manufacturers to securely load an eSIM profile onto a device – for the purposes of this discussion, an automobile or the relevant component – as part of, and at the time of, its production literally on the manufacturing line. 

For a vehicle, this is important because it has secure connectivity built into its DNA. In fact, because we are increasingly talking about SDVs, connectivity is literally integral to the production process. Vast amounts of data have to be uploaded into it at different points in its manufacture, for example via software flashing, as with the updating of firmware.

That manufacturers can now use a single, global stock-keeping unit (SKU) modem – or telematic control unit (TCU) – across all vehicles is a significant advantage. Inventory management is optimized and time and money saved across the board. 

Among other things, IFPP delivers the following:

• Quicker and more efficient production
• Shorter time to market
• Enhanced security
• The loading of target-country-specific eSIM profiles within the factory itself – no need to wait until the vehicle is delivered to its destination
• Reduced cost and complexity overall; in this context, another factor enhancing security and efficiency is the emergence of the non-public network (NPN).

SGP.32 can be a game-changer

“Connected vehicles, and SDVs in particular, are benefiting from GSMA’s updated RSP standard, SGP.32,” noted Leibfarth. As he pointed out, SGP.32 introduces modern IP‑based profile management with IPA (device agent) and eIM (cloud manager), reusing SM‑DP+ back ends. (See “Enhancing mobility through SGP.32,” below.) 

This enables high speeds and performance while keeping integration costs low. In practice, SGP.32 enables at‑scale fleet management and life cycle connectivity. OEMs can download, enable, disable, or delete profiles across fleets and markets via policy – that is, a set of automated rules that manage connectivity in real time across a fleet, without the need to manually configure each vehicle.

With the right connectivity management platform (CMP), devices equipped to this standard can switch between operators and profiles with ease. Large fleet deployments, of the sort that logistics operators normally put in the field, also benefit from this. This adaptability also enables OEMs to plan ahead and integrate with operators across their target markets and thus navigate what would otherwise be a dense thicket of regional and legal requirements around roaming regulations, pricing, and the like. 

“The advantages of using SGP.32 include flexibility, efficiency, lower costs, and scalability,” pointed out Leibfarth. “In addition, control over the whole ‘journey’ shifts, from the network operator to the OEM. In older iterations like SGP.02 – which was SMS-based – there was an element of vendor lock-in. That’s been removed.” Of course, he added, those advantages only become apparent and available when the OEM is using the right sort of unified CMP. 

A new business ecosystem

To recap, using IFPP and SGP.32 to the best of their abilities gives a vehicle out-of-the-box connectivity, which an OEM can orchestrate centrally via a unified platform. Remote management of that vehicle’s eSIM profiles over the arc of its life supports telematics, which in turn are integral to fleet management, software updates delivered OTA, and the like.

Taken together, these advances in flexibility, adaptability, reliability, and secure automotive connectivity are opening up new revenue streams and opportunities for vehicle manufacturers and their partners, which include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Functions on demand, a growing field within the automotive sector, where drivers/owners can subscribe to services such as heated seats, adaptive cruise control (ACC) and voice control even after they take delivery: these services are made available OTA, and are charged to the user
2. Energy services for electric vehicles
3. Usage-based insurance, which can be conceived of as a pay-as-you-drive service, with rates varying by mileage, areas driven, and even the driver’s style on the road, including their typical speeds 

The management of large fleets is another growing area of demand, especially when elements of any given fleet are connected through older standards, such as SGP.02. Scania, part of the global TRATON Group, is a world leader in large commercial vehicles. They, too, identified this issue across their global fleet. 

As pointed out earlier, in the best case, vehicles are long-lived assets, certainly in the high-value commercial segment where Scania operates. Retiring assets because they conform to an earlier connectivity standard is clearly not an option. Nor is sacrificing connectivity. “The answer is to manage the connectivity of all those assets, wherever they are, through a management platform that can cater to both legacy and current connectivity standards – in this case, SGP.02 and SGP.32. Additionally, such a platform should be adaptable enough to pivot to a new standard when it arrives,” said Leibfarth.

G+D’s CMP solution for the IoT at large – and the automotive industry in particular – is one such platform. Whether you’re managing a large fleet of vehicles, making sure older ones stay connected, or onboarding new ones, it connects all the dots so you don’t have to worry about them. It operates across the existing standards, and is ready for the next one, SGP.42.

“With G+D’s IoT CMP, we’ve been able to smoothly transition to the new SGP.32 standard while continuing to maintain reliable connectivity for our existing fleet using SGP.02,” said Peter Vincent, former Head of Connected Systems, Scania CV AB. He highlighted how the platform delivered diagnostic data while offering an efficient and scalable solution to manage all of Scania’s connected vehicles.

Along with helping OEMs scale up their production onsite, boosting connectivity across a vehicle’s active life, opening up new revenue streams, and transforming fleet management across connectivity standards, G+D’s IoT-CMP checks all the boxes required for success as a secure, efficient, and scalable CMP for the automotive sector.

Published: 10/02/2026