In an era where automotive development trends are described by buzzwords such as self-driving, software defined vehicle, subscription services and over-the-air updates connectivity moved from nice to have functions to mandatory core systems.
While connectivity has provided convenience in the past, enabling up-to-date traffic information, remote access to the vehicle or concierge services, nowadays safety critical features are built upon it such as V2X or eCall.
That means connectivity failures aren’t only inconvenient; they can directly harm occupant and road user safety, slow rescue response, or degrade active crash-avoidance systems that depend on external data. Recent regulatory and assessment changes make rigorous connectivity testing an essential part of vehicle development and certification.
What has changed recently in the regulations?
The EU’s updated eCall requirements mandate 4G/5G-capable emergency call systems for new vehicle types from 2026 and for all new M1/N1 vehicles by early 2027.
An emergency call must succeed even under weak coverage, cell transitions, congestions or degraded radio conditions. This elevates expectations for uninterrupted connectivity, seamless fallback behaviour, packet-switched call reliability and compatibility with PSAP (public safety answering point) infrastructures including successful MSD (minimum set of data) transmission.
Mit den Euro-NCAP-Bewertungsprotokollen 2026 wird Konnektivität offiziell als sicherheitsrelevanter Faktor berücksichtigt. Hersteller müssen angeben, welche V2X-Funkzugangstechnologie sie einsetzen (ITS-G5 oder C-V2X) und nachweisen, dass diese zuverlässig arbeitet und mit der Straßeninfrastruktur interoperabel ist. Konnektivität fließt zudem in neue Bewertungsbereiche wie „Post-Crash Safety“ und „Safe Driving“ ein, in denen der rechtzeitige Datenaustausch mit Ersthelfern und anderen Verkehrsteilnehmern ein entscheidender Bestandteil der Gesamtfahrzeugsicherheit ist.
Euro NCAP’s 2026 assessment protocols formally bring connectivity into the safety domain. Manufacturers must declare which V2X radio access technology they use (ITS-G5 or C-V2X) and demonstrate that it works reliably and interoperates with roadside infrastructure. Connectivity also influences new “Post-Crash Safety” and “Safe Driving” scoring areas, where timely data exchange with first responders and other road participants becomes part of overall vehicle safety performance. Years of pilots and standardization by ETSI, 3GPP and 5GAA have matured V2X technologies, which are now entering mass-market deployment. The standards are stretching beyond automotive to fulfil the expectations of the 21st century smart city and include the expectations towards other traffic participants including vulnerable road users (VNU) as well as road-side unit (RSU) equipped infrastructure components. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-network (V2N) messages enable early hazard warnings, intersection assistance, cooperative adaptive cruise control and improved ADAS decision-making.
This new era of vehicle functions and safety puts new challenges in front of the OEMs as well as the Tier1s.
How NOFFZ can help navigate through these challenges?
Our latest comprehensive connected vehicle test rack offers an all-in-one solution for testing every aspect of vehicle connectivity, let it be GNSS for precise location, Cellular for internet connectivity or V2X for cooperative messages between the vehicle and its surroundings.
Our connectivity test rack includes the following key components:
Cellular Network from 2G to 5G – NOFFZ BSE
The Base Station Emulator provides test coverage for cellular connectivity units (TCU, CCU) to test data throughput and reliability over the Uu link, testing CS and PS calls including VoLTE and VoNR, test eCall and NG eCall, including MSD decoding, and also extend cell coverage for NTN (non-terrestrial network) operations. The BSE supports multi-UE connectivity and multi-PLMN testing to cover the most modern, self-driving capable vehicle connectivity devices.
V2X Remote Traffic Participant Simulator – NOFFZ ITN 3000
Our V2X test platform offers signaling and non-signaling V2X test coverage by simulating various traffic participants – such as OBUs, RSUs, VNUs – under the selected radio access technology (ITS-G5, DSRC, C-V2X) to exchange data with the Device Under Test (DUT) by synchronized broadcast messages over the selected message types (BSM, CAM, SPAT, MAP, etc…).
Real-time, multi-standard satellite simulator – NOFFZ GNSS solutions
Our solution can generate multi-band GNSS signals for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. Enhance your test scenarios with additional functionalities like signal interference, SBAS, or RTK. Differential GNSS and multi-vehicle simulation, GNSS satellite orbit modification, unlimited additive pseudo-distance ramps, and fixed user-defined positions are also supported.
The system – NOFFZ UTP 7033
All the necessary components (UPS, IPC, etc.) are included in the rack to make it a true turnkey solution for either environmental validation, hardware validation, RnD system testing or even EMC lab testing purposes. The automated test sequence developed specifically for the project enables a worry-free, 24/7 operation to overcome the latest test challenges.
With our test system, teams can confidently meet all Euro NCAP and eCall mandate requirements. The platform increases testing efficiency and supports new requirements as they arise—allowing teams to focus on performance while we handle the complexity.