V2X Communication Patent Landscape 2026
V2X Communication Patent Landscape in 2026
V2X communication is a mature, moderately concentrated field with 11,030 patent families on record, led by Motional AD LLC with 854 patent families and automotive OEMs holding the top tier. The field reached peak annual filing volume in 2022 and has since plateaued, with the multi-year base still substantial while the most recent periods remain under-counted due to publication lag.
Motional AD leads a moderately concentrated field dominated by automotive and mobility players
Motional AD LLC holds the top position with 854 patent families, ahead of LG Electronics (733), Hyundai Motor (657), Toyota (585), and Ford (463). The top five filers together account for 35% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration with meaningful second- and third-tier competition.
There is a clear tier gap between the top five and the next cluster — Qualcomm (451), GM (430), and Denso (323) — reflecting that core IP control is held by a small group while a broad challenger tier keeps the competitive landscape contested. Below rank ten, the drop-off is gradual, suggesting active participation from a diverse set of automotive suppliers, semiconductor firms, and technology companies.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motional AD LLC | 854 | |
| 2 | LG Electronics Inc. | 733 | |
| 3 | Hyundai Motor Company | 657 | |
| 4 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 585 | |
| 5 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 463 | |
| 6 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 451 | |
| 7 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 430 | |
| 8 | Denso Corporation | 323 | |
| 9 | Yinwang Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd. | 300 | |
| 10 | Sony Group Corporation | 296 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Intel Corporation | 191 | |
| 12 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 181 | |
| 13 | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | 164 | |
| 14 | Volkswagen AG | 152 | |
| 15 | Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. | 151 | |
| 16 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 130 | |
| 17 | Scania CV AB | 123 | |
| 18 | Stellantis Auto SAS | 119 | |
| 19 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 113 | |
| 20 | BEIJING BAIDU NETCOM SCI & TECH CO LTD | 105 |
The leaders’ positions imply that any entrant seeking to operate in vehicle autonomy and cooperative driving will need freedom-to-operate analysis against Motional AD, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and Toyota portfolios specifically. New entrants building on wireless protocol stacks will additionally face Qualcomm’s focused H04W (wireless networks) holdings.
Filings from approximately 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and are likely undercounted; apparent volume softness in those years should not be read as a real market retreat. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume plateaued near a 2022 peak; vehicle control logic dominates the technology mix
The annual trend chart shows the field’s rapid expansion from 2017 through 2022 and subsequent plateau, while the technology composition chart reveals a strong concentration in vehicle control and autonomy classes alongside thinner coverage in wireless protocol and AI-model branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings climbed steeply from 521 in 2017 to a peak of 1,865 in 2022, then eased to 1,465 in 2023. Data for 2024 and beyond is substantially underrepresented due to patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a structural decline. The field is on a multi-year-elevated plateau rather than in retreat.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B60W (hybrid/joint vehicle control) is the dominant branch by a wide margin, reflecting the deep integration of V2X communication with autonomous driving logic. G08G (traffic control systems) and G05D (control of non-electric variables) follow, together confirming that the center of gravity is vehicle behavior rather than pure communications infrastructure. H04W (wireless communication networks) and G06N (AI models) are present but proportionally smaller, indicating relative sparsity in protocol-layer and AI-inference IP.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) full-duplex localizati…
An assistance system modifies an operation of a vehicle component based on a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. A method includes receiving, by a remote vehicle, a request message inquiring what additional identifying information of an ego vehicle the remote vehicle requests so that the remote vehicle has a capacity to identify the ego vehicle as a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Platoon vehicle management | 993 |
| 2 | Autonomous vehicle management | 784 |
| 3 | Autonomous vehicle system | 647 |
| 4 | A Method and Apparatus for Collecting and Using Se… | 596 |
| 5 | Autonomous vehicle management | 412 |
| 6 | Sensor network enhancement mechanisms | 313 |
| 7 | Vehicle monitoring system | 304 |
| 8 | Parking assist system with annotated map generation | 274 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural characteristics of the V2X landscape — life-cycle stage, applicant concentration, co-filing partnerships, and geographic coverage — each carry distinct implications for teams evaluating where to place R&D bets.
Field is at a maturity plateau, not an early-growth phase
Annual filings peaked in 2022 and have since plateaued at a high absolute level, consistent with a maturing technology cycle. New entrants face an established prior-art base requiring careful claim differentiation. Incremental improvements in vehicle control logic will meet dense prior art; differentiation in protocol-layer or AI-inference sub-spaces offers a more navigable path.
Maturity stageTop five hold 35% of large-filer volume; challenger tier is active
The top five filers’ 35% share of the hundred largest filers signals moderate — not extreme — concentration. Motional AD, LG Electronics, Hyundai, Toyota, and Ford form a dominant tier, but the challenger group from rank six to twenty remains substantial. This structure means coalition-building or licensing from the top tier is likely necessary for commercial deployment, but market access is not locked up by a single entity.
Moderate concentrationHyundai–Kia axis is the most active co-filing partnership; Denso–Toyota is the key supplier–OEM link
The most active co-filing pair is Hyundai Motor and Kia with 618 joint families, an order of magnitude larger than any other pairing and reflecting deep intra-group coordination. The next active links are Hyundai Motor with Asia University (30), Kia with Asia University (30), and Denso with Toyota (27), confirming that supplier–OEM co-development is a significant IP-generation mechanism. Sony Group co-files with Sony Semiconductor Solutions (20), indicating internal cross-unit collaboration at the component level.
Ecosystem co-filingUS dominates filings; China and EPO are the critical secondary markets
The United States leads with 5,569 patent records, nearly four times China’s 1,471 and the EPO’s 1,378. WIPO PCT filings at 685 and Germany at 663 indicate that leading applicants are pursuing international protection selectively. India (261) and South Korea (128) are emerging as secondary validation markets worth monitoring for localization of V2X deployment standards.
US-centric, global reachGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Motor Company | Kia Corporation | 618 |
| Hyundai Motor Company | 亚洲大学校产学协力团 | 30 |
| Kia Corporation | 亚洲大学校产学协力团 | 30 |
| Denso Corporation | Toyota Motor Corporation | 27 |
| Hyundai Motor Company | Kia Corporation | 22 |
| Denso Corporation | J-Quad Dynamics Inc. | 21 |
| Sony Group Corporation | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | 20 |
| Denso Corporation | Denso International America Inc. | 15 |
| Kia Corporation | Kia Corporation | 8 |
| Sony Group Corporation | Sony Europe B.V. | 7 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Motional AD leads on autonomous control depth; GM shows the strongest recent momentum
The top two players illustrate two distinct strategies: deep specialization in autonomous vehicle control logic (Motional AD) versus a broad vehicle control platform with accelerating recent output (GM Global Technology Operations).
Motional AD LLC
Motional AD holds 854 patent families — the largest portfolio in the field — concentrated in B60W60 (autonomous vehicle control), B60W30 (vehicle control logic), and G05D1 (non-electric variable control). Recent filings show a near-flat trajectory at –3% versus the prior three-year period, indicating a portfolio that is consolidating rather than rapidly expanding. Their depth in the autonomy control stack makes them the primary freedom-to-operate reference for any autonomous V2X system.
families: 854GM Global Technology Operations LLC
GM Global Technology Operations holds 430 patent families and is the strongest momentum story in the top tier, with recent filings up 103% versus the prior three-year period — the sharpest acceleration among tracked applicants. Their technology focus is spread across B60W30, B60W50, and B60W40, suggesting a broad vehicle control platform strategy rather than a narrow autonomy niche. This acceleration warrants close monitoring by competitors evaluating GM’s V2X IP build-out trajectory.
families: 430| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Motional AD LLC | 363 | ▬ -3% |
| LG Electronics Inc. | 70 | ▼ -74% |
| Hyundai Motor Company | 197 | ▼ -28% |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 207 | ▲ +11% |
| GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 248 | ▲ +103% |
| Ford Global Technologies LLC | 168 | ▲ +6% |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 109 | ▼ -48% |
Under-served adjacent branches in wireless protocols and AI inference
Within the V2X corpus, several IPC branches sit at relatively low share compared to the dominant vehicle-control cluster. Two in particular combine plausible technical relevance with a navigable prior-art base.
H04W · Wireless communication networks
H04W accounts for 1,642 patent records — roughly 6% of the IPC branch distribution — despite wireless networking being foundational to V2X operation. The thin coverage relative to B60W suggests that protocol-layer IP (sidelink, Uu interface, C-V2X/DSRC stack optimizations) remains less contested than vehicle control logic. Qualcomm is the primary incumbent in this branch; entrants with strengths in 5G NR-V2X or 802.11p protocol design could file differentiated claims here with a manageable freedom-to-operate burden.
Search this in Eureka →G06N · Computing based on AI models
G06N (AI models) appears with 793 patent records — roughly 3% of the branch distribution — despite the growing role of machine learning in V2X perception fusion, intent prediction, and cooperative decision-making. The relative sparsity suggests that AI-native approaches to V2X (e.g., federated learning for collective map updates, transformer-based trajectory prediction using V2X sensor fusion) are not yet heavily claimed. Teams combining G06N and G08G (traffic control) or G05D (vehicle control) in a single filing family may find a navigable entry path with meaningful differentiation.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ across vehicle control, traffic systems, and wireless protocol routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | B60W 30 · Hybrid/joint vehicle control | B60W 50 · Hybrid/joint vehicle control | G05D 1 · Control of non-electric variables | G08G 1 · Traffic control systems | B60W 60 · Hybrid/joint vehicle control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Electronics Inc. | Strong · 293 | Strong · 278 | Strong · 309 | Strong · 173 | Moderate · 113 |
| Motional AD LLC | Strong · 280 | Moderate · 134 | Strong · 236 | Emerging · 84 | Strong · 421 |
| Hyundai Motor Company | Strong · 364 | Strong · 188 | Moderate · 152 | Moderate · 182 | Strong · 185 |
| Denso Corporation | Strong · 151 | Strong · 189 | Absent | Strong · 181 | Strong · 169 |
| GM Global Technology Operations LLC | Strong · 137 | Strong · 132 | Strong · 101 | Strong · 86 | Strong · 114 |
| Ford Global Technologies LLC | Strong · 167 | Strong · 108 | Strong · 84 | Strong · 95 | Strong · 90 |
Frequently asked questions
Motional AD LLC leads with 854 patent families, ahead of LG Electronics (733), Hyundai Motor (657), Toyota (585), and Ford (463). These five together account for 35% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers.
The field peaked in annual filing volume in 2022 at 1,865 filings and has since plateaued. The multi-year base remains substantial. Data for 2024 and 2025 are substantially underrepresented due to patent publication lag and should not be read as a real decline.
B60W (hybrid/joint vehicle control) is the dominant branch by a large margin, reflecting V2X’s deep integration with autonomous driving systems. G08G (traffic control systems) and G05D (control of non-electric variables) are the next largest, with H04W (wireless communication networks) and G06N (AI models) comparatively smaller.
The United States leads with 5,569 patent records. China (1,471) and Europe via the EPO (1,378) are the principal secondary jurisdictions. WIPO PCT (685) and Germany (663) follow, indicating selective international protection strategies by leading applicants.
GM Global Technology Operations shows the strongest recent momentum with a 103% increase in filings versus the prior three-year period. Qualcomm and Ford also show positive recent growth at +11% and +6% respectively. LG Electronics and Huawei show the sharpest recent declines in filing rate.
Hyundai Motor and Kia are by far the most active co-filers with 618 joint patent families, reflecting deep intra-group coordination. The next most active pairings are Hyundai with Asia University (30), Kia with Asia University (30), and Denso with Toyota (27).
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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