Modern-day automobiles have evolved into electronically controlled vehicles from mechanical ones. Hundreds of ECUs and millions of lines of software codes form the backbone of new-age cars. 

Many of the advanced functions and features available in today's cars, such as advanced driver assistance, telematics, passive safety systems, engine management, and so on, are powered by automotive ECUs, which enable various levels of autonomous driving.

The implementation of driverless cars increases the complexity of E/E architecture and adds safety-critical components to automobiles, emphasizing the importance of functional safety.