11 Myths About Automotive Ethernet

The Open Alliance’s Tobias Belitz debunks the following myths surrounding automotive Ethernet technology.

1. Automotive Ethernet is for the future, not now.

Automotive Ethernet is a future-proof networking technology that adapts Ethernet to improve the in-vehicle experience. The market was worth 3.5 billion USD in 2025, but it’s set to rise exponentially to 11.93 billion USD as soon as 2031.

Adoption is already benefiting OEMs, since they can adhere to modern safety regulations and address today’s connectivity requirements for automotive networks, including advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment.

2. Ethernet is the same as automotive Ethernet.

Regular Ethernet networks often use different well-known “Cat” cables with multiple wire pairs and different shielding to send and receive data between devices. In automotive Ethernet applications, data transmissions are instead typically delivered over a single twisted pair of wires.

This, in turn, reduces weight and networking complexity in cars. Typically, more than a mile of wiring exists inside a car, accounting for a considerable weight that can be reduced through wider adoption of automotive Ethernet.

3. It’s too expensive for mass-market vehicles.

While an Ethernet chip costs more than a CAN chip, the savings in weight and wiring complexity when there’s a need for more bandwidth make it the most cost-effective choice for modern mass-market vehicle designs. Furthermore, market costs have dropped considerably, as a result of increased adoption, standardization, and the need for high-speed transmission. As such, the per unit cost for components like PHY transceivers are decreasing.

In addition, the dominant topology in vehicles is a star topology where connections are typically realized as point-to-point links, tailored to minimize cabling complexity. Using Automotive Ethernet can reduce system costs by replacing legacy buses and heavy wiring.

4. Latency and bandwidth are too unreliable.

That’s not true. In fact, current speeds typically range from 10 Mb/s (10BASE-T1S) to 10 Gb/s (10GBASE-T1). Automotive Ethernet can also employ the AVB/TSN toolkit, providing various capabilities that guarantee precise and predictable data timing.

Although higher bandwidth doesn’t necessarily mean better system performance, the industry is shifting toward the efficient management of mission-critical in-car communication. The priority has moved to optimizing the deterministic flow of high-throughput data, specifically high-resolution camera feeds, LiDAR, and real-time sensor streams. This will ensure the backbone of the vehicle’s architecture can handle these specialized loads with minimal latency.

5. Using Ethernet in cars makes them less secure.

Vehicle networks may contain security vulnerabilities that necessitate the implementation of secure-boot processes, firewalls, and encryption techniques to mitigate risks. MACsec helps enhance vehicle security, which led the OPEN Alliance to establish its TC17 with the goal of adapting MACsec to meet automotive-specific needs.

The use of automotive Ethernet is crucial for enabling modern IT-style security mechanisms like the above within vehicles.

6. Automotive Ethernet can’t withstand all weather conditions.

Automotive Ethernet is specifically engineered to operate reliably in extreme automotive environments. The technology can withstand wide temperature fluctuations, high humidity, moisture, intense electromagnetic interference (EMI), and physical vibrations, all while maintaining high-quality, high-speed communications.

These robust characteristics ensure that key systems requiring deterministic networks, such as ADAS sensors, infotainment, and safety electronics, will function reliably under the harshest of real-world conditions.

7. Automotive Ethernet isn’t energy-efficient.

With more focus being placed on ensuring that future automotive vehicles are as energy-efficient as possible, automotive Ethernet presents a logistical choice. Key features such as sleep modes according to OPEN Alliance TC10 or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE), in addition to the previously mentioned single twisted-pair wiring, delivers reduced weight, improving energy efficiency.

8. Automotive Ethernet is suitable for only low-performance applications.

The technology can actually power high-bandwidth applications such as infotainment systems, cameras for ADAS and autonomous driving, and diagnostics. The likes of automotive radar sensors need real-time response and low latency. Therefore, standardized technologies should be the first port of call.

The IEEE is currently developing standards for Asymmetrical Electrical Automotive Ethernet (P802.3dm), specifying distinct bandwidth needs for uploads and downloads. This standardization is particularly relevant for a number of applications, including cameras.

9. Automotive Ethernet is only for electric or autonomous vehicles.

While electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous cars do benefit greatly from the technology, automotive Ethernet is by no means limited to those vehicles. It’s equally relevant for internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicles, where the number of electronic control units (ECUs), sensors, and software-driven functions continues to be high.

Modern ICE and hybrid vehicles increasingly rely on high‑bandwidth, low‑latency communication to support ADAS, centralized or zonal architectures, and over‑the‑air software updates. In addition, real‑time diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and detailed vehicle health monitoring place higher demands on in‑vehicle networks than traditional CAN or LIN buses were originally designed to handle.

By providing scalable bandwidth, standardized communication, and support for TSN, automotive Ethernet enables these capabilities across all vehicle powertrain types. As a result, it’s become a foundational technology for modern vehicle architectures, regardless of whether the vehicle is electric, hybrid, or powered solely by an ICE.

10. Automotive Ethernet will replace CAN, Local Interconnect Network (LIN), and FlexRay.

Some traditional protocols, such as FlexRay or Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), won’t disappear from the market and be replaced by Ethernet. A LIN or CAN transceiver costs only a fraction of a dollar. The computing power required by a microcontroller to process a LIN or CAN stack is minimal. Therefore, these protocols will continue to be used in the future.

However, with 10BASE-T1S, Ethernet is increasingly penetrating the domain of traditional protocols. With Remote Control Protocol currently being defined by the OPEN Alliance (TC18), protocols like CAN and LIN will be pushed further to the edge of the networks.

11. Automotive Ethernet isn’t standardized.

Automotive Ethernet technology is standardized to improve interoperability between vehicles, networks, and software systems.

Standards development organizations (SDOs) such as IEEE and OPEN Alliance standardize Automotive Ethernet and provide test specifications to ensure compatibility and interoperability. The OPEN Alliance is particularly focused on the automotive sector, with most of its members coming from the automotive domain.