The FlexRay Consortium is an alliance of automotive, semiconductor and electronic systems manufacturers working together to develop a deterministic and fault-tolerant bus system with high data rates for advanced automotive control applications.
 
The FlexRay Consortium came about as a result of a cooperation between BMW and DaimlerChrysler after the two automobile manufacturers realized that current solutions did not meet their needs for future applications including x-by-wire. In September 2000, BMW and DaimlerChrysler joined forces with Philips and Motorola to form the FlexRay Consortium. Since then the Consortium has grown to include some of the automotive industry’s largest and most influential players, including Bosch, General Motors, and VW among others.
 
The FlexRay communication system has quickly gained momentum with many new members coming on board. Industry experts are predicting that FlexRay will become the de facto standard for high-speed control applications within vehicles.