Volkswagen is losing patience with its subsidiary Cariad, which is supposed to develop its software and prepare the digital infrastructure for the autonomous cars of tomorrow. Porsche has already left the in-house system for that of Google, and now the entire automotive group has taken a resolution. All the members of the Cariad board of directors will thus be dismissed this week, with the exception of Rainer Zugehör, who could stay, according to Business Insider.
This abrupt change will be accompanied by other measures, and a Volkswagen spokesperson confirmed that the management of the manufacturer was thinking about the future of the subsidiary. However, this is at the heart of an investment of more than a billion dollars by the end of the decade. Normally, staff will not be affected, and Cariad will always be part of the internal strategy… but then, what to expect from Volkswagen’s future software?
Apple’s new CarPlay is coming this year
A true cornerstone of the brand, the software was a promise until then that Volkswagen was going to pivot from the manufacturer label to that of a real digital player, focused on mobility. Opposite, the competition will be called Google and Apple, two companies that want to welcome manufacturers with open arms so that they crack and decide to abandon their work and instead adopt the services of digital giants.
Moreover, next month Apple will organize its annual conference for developers, the WWDC. Known to be the mass of the Apple brand for its applications and operating systems, the appointment should be an opportunity to learn more about the new generation CarPlay. The latter, in the Volkswagen group, is already announced to be compatible with Audi and Volkswagen. The release of Apple’s interface for cars should take up the style of what the firm showed us a year ago.
Google, Samsung… Volkswagen is already no longer independent
Cariad, which is an internal company of the Volkswagen group, may be independent, but today it works with technological partners such as Samsung (via its subsidiary Harman), which has enabled it to develop its new application store. The new App Store is naturally based on Android, and will not only be used to download applications. It will also be a new portal for the interface between the driver and the car.
The new app store is due to arrive by July and will initially cover the Audi range. It will be a first brick, which shows that Volkswagen will not be able to play in total independence for long. When it believes in it, all of its product release plans suffer: we remember the difficult launch of the ID3 because of a software bug, but also the current delay of the Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron.
Late last year, Volkswagen gathered on its supervisory board to discuss Cariad’s plans for its ultimate project: developing the software infrastructure for the self-driving car. Little information emerged from these exchanges on December 15th. No flagship announcement in any case. That of the application store at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March or the partnership of Porsche and Google have been the main announcements around Cariad ever since.
One thing is certain: Volkswagen’s plans are still two years behind schedule. Volkswagen software 2.0 for the autonomous car is now expected for 2028. With the dismissal of the members of the board of directors, it is a new beginning that has just sounded.
