SR&ED for automotive & EV
The automotive world, and the EV and battery boom around it, is full of SR&ED: powertrains, battery systems, driver assistance and new materials all run into problems the known methods can't solve. The eligible work is usually the part where you had to find out whether something would even work.
Integrating proven parts the expected way isn't it. Resolving a genuine unknown is.
3-day trial · no card · AI included, no setup
Where the eligible work usually is
- Battery chemistry, pack design or thermal management where performance, safety or life couldn't be predicted in advance.
- Powertrain or efficiency work that pushed past what the established approaches could deliver.
- ADAS and control software — perception, sensor fusion, decision-making — where the outcome was genuinely uncertain.
- Lightweighting, new materials or joining methods whose behaviour under your conditions had no established answer.
What usually doesn't qualify
Routine vehicle integration, styling, standard calibration, applying a supplier's proven solution, and production tooling built to a known spec generally aren't SR&ED. A new model or a new feature doesn't qualify on its own — the question is always whether a technological outcome was genuinely uncertain.
Evidence from the test program
Automotive development produces strong records: dyno, road and durability test data, battery cycling logs, simulation results, DVP&R records, and the firmware and software history behind them. SREDlog connects GitHub for the software trail and organizes the uploaded test data against the project, keeping each claimed cost tied to its evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not on its own. Fitting proven components the expected way is routine. It can be eligible if making them work together required resolving a real technological uncertainty through experimentation.
Only the parts where the outcome was technologically uncertain — a battery or thermal problem with no known solution, say. The build and integration around it is generally routine.
Dyno and road data, battery cycling logs, simulation and DVP&R records are strong contemporaneous evidence. See evidence management.
Claim the problems you had to solve
Start a free trial and turn your test and validation data into a defensible SR&ED claim.
3-day free trial · No credit card required
This guide is general information, not tax advice. SR&ED rules, rates and limits change, so confirm the current figures with the CRA or your advisor before you file.