Secure wireless over-the-air data transfer between multiple vehicle electronic control units

An over-the-air (OTA) update data sharing or distribution system for a vehicle having a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs), the system comprising:

• an OTA update data transceiver configured for long-range wireless communication between one of the plurality of ECUs and a remote server;
• a short-range wireless communication transceiver configured for short-range wireless communication with a remainder of the plurality of ECUs;
• and
• a controller connected to the OTA update data transceiver and the short-range wireless communication transceiver and configured to:
• obtain, from the OTA update transceiver, OTA update data from the remote server for the one of the plurality of ECUs;
• format the OTA update data to a compressed packet-based file format to obtain formatted OTA update data;
• and
• share or distribute the formatted OTA update data from the short-range wireless communication transceiver to the remainder of the plurality of ECUs, wherein receipt of the formatted OTA update data causes each of the remainder of the plurality of ECUs to perform a corresponding firmware upgrade,
• wherein the remainder of the plurality of ECUs do not require their own one or more OTA update data transceivers thereby decreasing costs of the vehicle.