The fifth-generation (Gen 5) R-Car family is the focus of Renesas Electronics’ growing software-defined vehicle (SDV) solution portfolio. The R-Car X5H, the most recent member of the Gen 5 family, is said to be the first multi-domain automotive system-on-a-chip (SoC) produced using revolutionary 3nm process technology. It can operate gateway systems, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) concurrently.
With up to 35% less power usage than earlier 5nm solutions, the R-Car X5H offers the highest level of integration, performance, and power efficiency thanks to one of the most cutting-edge process nodes in the market. With the ability to grow AI performance through chiplet extensions, the SoC delivers robust central compute that targets several automotive domains as AI becomes a crucial component of next-generation SDVs.
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.
With chiplets boosting acceleration by four times or more, it achieves up to 400 TOPS of AI performance. Additionally, it has over 1,000k DMIPS powered by 32 Arm® Cortex®-A720AE CPU cores and six Cortex-R52 lockstep cores with ASIL D compatibility, as well as 4 TFLOPS equivalent* of GPU power for high-end graphics. The SoC uses mixed criticality technology to implement sophisticated functionality across several domains without sacrificing security.
Renesas is expanding the capabilities of the RoX development platform as hardware and software become more closely linked early in development to handle complex E/E architectures. By integrating the necessary hardware, operating systems, software, and tools needed to quickly design next-generation vehicles with seamless software updates, RoX significantly streamlines development.
Accelerating Automotive Innovation with an Open, Scalable RoX Whitebox SDK
Renesas now provides the RoX Whitebox Software Development Kit (SDK) for the R-Car X5H, an open platform based on Linux, Android, and the XEN hypervisor, to shorten time-to-market. Partner operating systems and solutions, such as AUTOSAR, EB Corbos Linux, QNX, Red Hat, and SafeRTOS, are also supported. With the SDK, developers may create ADAS, L3/L4 autonomy, intelligent cockpit, and gateway systems right out of the box.
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, DSP Concepts, Nullmax, Smart Eye, STRADVISION and ThunderSoft, supporting end-to-end development of modern automotive software architectures and faster time to market.
Leadership Comments
“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
Renesas will showcase the capabilities of the R-Car X5H for the first time through a series of invitation-only demos at CES 2026. For more information about how to attend this event, contact sales at: CES26_Info@lm.renesas.com
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.
