Automakers are racing to validate ever more complex vehicles without losing years to physical prototypes, and Siemens is betting that virtual testing is the only way to keep pace. The company is knitting together digital twins, artificial intelligence and high‑fidelity simulation into a development stack that moves much of the proving ground into the cloud. In the process, Siemens is trying to redefine how cars, trucks and even race machines are conceived, verified and brought to market.
Instead of treating simulation as a late‑stage check, Siemens is positioning virtual verification as the backbone of automotive programs from chip to factory floor. Its latest tools aim to let engineers explore architectures, debug software and optimize manufacturing long before metal is cut, shifting risk and cost out of the physical world and into bits.
The digital twin moves from buzzword to blueprint
has turned the digital twin from a marketing slogan into a concrete product roadmap, with PAVE360 Automotive at the center. The core platform provides a full virtual representation of a vehicle and its electronics so teams can evaluate architectures and integrate hardware at the system level before committing to physical builds, according to PAVE360 Automotive. A related report notes that Siemens unveils a digital twin tool for automotive development that lets engineers start work on advanced driver assistance systems and other features while the real car is still on the drawing board, describing software that offers a full virtual representation of a vehicle and its hardware at the system level in Siemens unveils digital twin tool. Together, these moves show Siemens treating the twin as the master reference for design decisions rather than a static afterthought.
The company is also explicit that this is not a niche experiment but a strategic bet on how the industry will operate. In a detailed description of its new offering, Siemens presents a New off‑the‑shelf cloud‑based PAVE360 Automotive package that is designed to bring together automotive hardware and software integration in a single environment. Another analysis of the same launch underscores that Dec is when Siemens chose to spotlight this strategy, emphasizing that Dec and Siemens are now closely associated with a push to make the digital twin the default canvas for Automotive development in Dec Siemens.
PAVE360 Automotive and the Arm ecosystem
At the heart of Siemens’ virtual push is PAVE360 Automotive, which the company describes as a virtual blueprint for digital twin development that spans chips, ECUs and full vehicles. The platform leverages Siemens expertise in Automotive electronics to let engineers explore architectures, validate software and test integration long before a prototype hits the road, as detailed in Following prior collaboration with Arm. A complementary release stresses that Dec and Automotive are central to this launch, with Siemens positioning PAVE360 Automotive as a way to accelerate development of ADAS, AD and in‑vehicle infotainment capabilities by running them in rich virtual environments, a point reinforced in Dec Automotive Siemens.
Siemens is also leaning heavily on its relationship with Arm to make PAVE360 Automotive relevant to the silicon that actually powers modern cars. One announcement highlights PAVE360 Automotive using Arm and notes that, Following prior collaboration with Arm which resulted in accelerated virtual environments, the new platform is intended to help automakers and suppliers get to market sooner, as described in PAVE360 Automotive using Arm. A related passage, which explicitly references Dec, Automotive and Arm Following, underscores that this collaboration is meant to bridge virtual and real‑world validation so that Arm‑based compute platforms and vehicle software can be exercised together long before physical test fleets exist, as laid out in Arm Following.
Continuous virtual verification, AI and smarter test loops
Siemens is not only building virtual prototypes, it is also trying to virtualize the verification and validation loop that surrounds them. A white paper on Continuous Automotive development argues that Automotive product development is constrained by the cost and time of physical testing and advocates continuous virtual verification and validation to streamline processes. The paper frames virtual V&V as a way to keep software‑defined vehicles in sync with rapidly changing requirements, using simulation to catch integration issues before they reach the proving ground.
Artificial intelligence is being pulled directly into this workflow through Simcenter Testlab. Siemens explains that Sep is when it added AI to Simcenter Testlab to reinvent modal testing and analysis processes, describing how AI‑driven analysis can help teams identify structural issues faster and earlier than ever before in Siemens Simcenter Testlab. A deeper dive into what is new in Simcenter Testlab 2506 notes that Sep is also associated with AI‑assisted modal workflows that support people who do not have sufficient experience to judge data quality right away, highlighting how AI can guide less seasoned engineers through complex test campaigns in Sep 2506.
From racetracks to factories: virtual testing in the real world
Siemens is using motorsport as a high‑stakes laboratory for its virtual tools. The FIA has selected Siemens as Official Digital Twin Sponsor, and a detailed note explains that Sep is when the FIA expanded adoption of Siemens Xcelerator to design and refine next generation race car concepts, using computational fluid dynamics to study the Aerodynamics of car models in virtual form, as described in FIA Siemens Xcelerator Aerodynamics of. A broader alert on Auto‑Industry developments reinforces that Sep, FIA and Siemens Xcelerator are now closely linked as the federation leans on digital twins to iterate faster on safety and performance, a relationship captured in Sep FIA Siemens Xcelerator.
On the manufacturing side, Siemens is extending virtual development into the plant itself. Its description of virtual development software for automotive manufacturing outlines tools that let companies simulate and optimize production lines before equipment is installed. Within that portfolio, Siemens Virtual Development of Manufacturing is highlighted as a way to help automotive manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce time‑to‑market and increase quality through virtual commissioning and optimization, promising higher throughput and improved flexibility and agility in Siemens Virtual Development of Manufacturing. A companion explanation of how these tools work stresses that Virtual environments let teams collaborate and manage data effectively across engineering and production, a capability detailed in Virtual collaborate and manage data.
Immersive simulation, ADAS and the road ahead
Siemens is also sharpening its story around immersive simulation for automated driving and driver assistance. The Simcenter Prescan 2507 release is described as a significant leap forward in virtual testing, with Aug and The Simcenter Prescan associated with dynamic lighting, smart displays and enhanced traffic simulation that are tailored for automotive and defense applications, as outlined in Aug The Simcenter Prescan. Another blog on trucks, buses and specialty vehicles highlights Unlocking high‑fidelity radar simulation, noting that Siemens and AnteMotion join forces to reshape the future of radar testing through simulation and are cutting costs like never before by moving sensor validation into virtual environments, as described in Unlocking Siemens and. These capabilities feed directly into the ADAS and autonomous driving stacks that PAVE360 Automotive is designed to host.
Siemens is also using industry events to showcase how these pieces fit together. A preview of Automotive Testing Expo 2025 invites readers to Automotive Testing Expo 2025: Meet the Simcenter team and notes that Mar is when the Simcenter group plans to engage with engineers at The Automotive Testing Expo Europe, described as the world’s largest exhibition for vehicle and component testing, as laid out in Mar Automotive Testing Expo Meet the Simcenter The Automotive Testing Expo Europe. In parallel, Siemens emphasizes that the automotive industry is at the forefront of the software‑defined everything revolution and that Siemens is delivering tools that push what is possible across all industries, a message tied to Dec and Siemens in Dec Siemens. A separate analysis of the digital twin launch notes that Dec, Fri and PST are associated with commentary from GlobalData that the solution allows development teams to begin work on ADAS and that Techno trends are pushing automakers to bring together automotive hardware and software in unified virtual environments, as captured in Dec Fri PST ADAS Techno. Finally, Siemens’ own description of Simcenter Testlab 2025 reiterates that Siemens adds AI to Simcenter Testlab to reinvent modal testing and analysis so that structural issues can be found faster and earlier than ever before, a claim detailed in Sep Siemens Simcenter Testlab Plano Texa, while a related note from GlobalData specifies that the announcement landed at 54 minutes past the hour, a detail preserved in 54.
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