In early October 2025, U.S.-based AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group), headquartered in Southfield in the Detroit area, convened a tightly connected “Detroit Triple” of events spanning quality, product compliance and sustainability, and Catena-X supplier activation. AIAG is a long-standing, non-profit mobility industry association uniting OEMs, suppliers, and service providers, citing 4,000+ member companies in 70+ countries. The common thread was twofold: first, a shared recognition that data is now mission-critical for next-level supply-chain execution and AI performance; second, the need to handle that data efficiently at scale. Catena-X is one practical answer to that efficiency challenge: an open, secure, standardized automotive data ecosystem that enables cross-company, end-to-end value-chain data exchange with trust, interoperability, control, and data sovereignty. In North America, AIAG serves as the official Catena-X Hub North America (CX-Hub-NA), formally launched at ALSC 2025 (Schlueter Langdon 2025).
Figure 1: AIAG Quality Summit Oct 1-2 and Catena-X supplier onboarding on Oct 3rd
AIAG 2025 Quality Summit (Oct 1–2, 2025 | Novi, MI)
AIAG’s Quality Summit is an annual convening for OEMs, suppliers, and service providers to align on next-generation automotive quality management, with a practical focus on standards, audit effectiveness, supplier collaboration, and emerging technology.
What stood out in 2025. The 2025 agenda reinforced the shift toward data- and software-driven quality, including AI-enabled approaches (predictive analytics, process optimization, and corrective-action automation) and deeper guidance on standards and audit expectations. Figure 1 captures impressions from the keynote and a Ford-Flex quality demo:
- Opening keynote: Oliver Ganser (BMW, VP Purchasing/ Supplier Network Digitization & Governance; also Catena-X board chair) set an executive frame for “what’s next,” linking BMW’s reinvention (incl. Neue Klasse as the visible marker) to the need for next-level performance in purchasing and supply chains, enabled by collaboration using Catena-X.
- Catena-X panel with on-stage demonstration: AIAG hosted a Catena-X session with pioneers from Ford, Flex, SAP, T-Systems, Cofinity-X, and Bosch focused on how shared standards and secure quality data exchange can accelerate root-cause analysis, illustrated with a real demonstration of Catena-X in practice.
Figure 2: Ford-Flex quality demo based on Catena-X standards and technology
Catena-X is the first globally trusted and collaborative data ecosystem for the automotive industry. It facilitates secure and trusted data exchange based on Web3-oriented, decentralized dataspace technology (Guggenberger et al. 2025). Quality is a key Catena-X use case, featuring variations with distinct data flows along the supply chain:
- Quality management for root-cause analysis with data flowing upstream. For quality analysis of a specific part, data flows downstream back up the supply chain, enabling OEMs and suppliers to share field data (e.g., warranty claims) and production data via standardized models under the Catena-X standard CX-0123. This supports early issue detection through collaborative root-cause analysis, proactive monitoring, and real-time alerts—reducing warranty costs, recalls, and downtime by integrating supplier production insights with OEM fleet data. The Ford-Flex pilot, showcased on stage at the AIAG Quality Summit 2025 in Detroit, and illustrated in Error! Reference source not found., exemplifies this: Ford and Flex connected via the Cofinity-X-operated Catena-X ecosystem, with Ford providing Flex telematics data to analyze a Flex-supplied part.
- Blocking notifications to stop and isolate bad parts with data flowing downstream. Another variant flips the flow, enabling suppliers to notify customers and OEMs in near real-time when parts must be blocked due to defects, safety, or compliance issues. Implemented as an API-based data exchange under the Catena-X traceability standard CX-0125, these notifications send structured JSON payloads via data space connectors to partners’ systems, complementing quality investigations with “block information” for critical defects and enabling OEMs/downstream partners to halt production, isolate parts, and prevent costly rework or recalls.
Why it matters. Quality is increasingly a network execution problem: time-to-containment and time-to-root-cause depend on governed, interoperable data exchange across tiers, not just internal plant excellence.
Figure 3: CX supplier onboarding event following the AIAG Quality Summit
Catena-X supplier onboarding (Oct 3, 2025 | AIAG HQ, Southfield, MI)
Our supplier day converted conference momentum into adoption mechanics: a focused onboarding accelerator designed to help suppliers join Catena-X efficiently and start executing priority use cases. The event was hosted by AIAG, supported by Catena-X, and organized by T-Systems with support from BMW and Flex. It was positioned as an optional third day following the Quality Summit, running 8:30am–12:00pm to allow same-day travel, hosted at AIAG Detroit Headquarters. Figure 3 shows the agenda, which emphasized (1) a clear participation path (requirements, timing, approach) and (2) practical onboarding support shaped with supplier input, spanning key use cases including PCF, Traceability, Quality, Certificate Management, and BMW ECU-related onboarding expectations.
Why it matters. Ecosystems scale when onboarding becomes repeatable. This day functioned as the “activation lever” that turns standards and infrastructure into production adoption.
Figure 4: Agenda of Catena-X supplier onboarding event
AIAG 2025 IMDS & Sustainability Conf. (Oct 8–10, 2025 | Novi, MI)
The AIAG-IMDS/ Product Compliance/ Sustainability conference is advancing product compliance execution and sustainability practices, with the 2025 theme explicitly framed around PCF, circular economy, and sustainable materials. For 2025 AIAG called out a dedicated PCF deep dive (Day 3, half-day) covering core implementation mechanics: training and data gathering, due diligence via an auditable Sustainability Data Approval Process (SDAP), PCF guidance, IMDS data entry, primary vs secondary data considerations, and reporting use cases. In parallel to the conference framing, T-Systems and iPoint positioned a joint “production-ready PCF” solution aligned with Catena-X and IMDS 15, emphasizing carbon transparency across the value chain and supplier onboarding at scale.
Why it matters now. AIAG explicitly linked PCF integration and harmonized reporting to evolving regulatory demands (e.g., EU Battery Regulation and CSRD) and emphasized streamlining carbon data exchange across the supply chain.
Deep dive: Insights, lessons learned, business impact
- AIAG’s CX-VIP event on LinkedIn: Matt Pohlman’s video clip, AIAG’s event video clip
- “Quality” Maria/ Ford LinkedIn post: https://bit.ly/AIAG-Quality2025_Ford-Flex
- “Detroit-Triple” Chris/ Telekom LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/AIAG-Quality-IMDS-CatenaX-2025
References
Guggenberger, T. M., C. Schlueter Langdon, and B. Otto. 2025. Data Spaces as Meta-Organisations. European Journal of Information Systems, January: 1–21, link
Schlueter Langdon, C. 2025. ALSC 2025: AIAG launches Catena-X Hub North America – Ecosystem globalization. Insights report (2025-06-30), Telekom Data Intelligence Hub, T-Systems International, Frankfurt, link
