Volkswagen has been in the headlines for some time now because of its austerity measures. Now it also seems to be affecting the “Automated Driving Alliance”. According to a report in Bild am Sonntag, insiders have said that VW wants to end the alliance.
The alliance was founded in 2022 by the Volkswagen software subsidiary Cariad and Bosch. A total of 1,500 IT experts are working there on the development of driving assistance systems for the future. According to Volkswagen, these should “act as naturally as a car driver” with the help of AI. The aim was to keep up with competitors Tesla, Mercedes and Chinese manufacturers. But that’s exactly what doesn’t seem to have worked and could now be one of the reasons for the alliance’s dissolution. Despite the 1.5 billion euros invested, according to Bild, internal departments do not consider the technology to be competitive. There is a significant gap to the market, particularly at level 2, i.e. driving without hands on the steering wheel in the city.
New partner for further development of technology
However, autonomous driving should not be completely abandoned, just that development should no longer take place completely independently. Instead, Volkswagen is now looking for a new partner who has already developed the technology required from Level 2. This cooperation should be secured until September 2026.
How exactly the Bosch alliance will continue is still unclear. According to the media report, the official termination should take place from today at the earliest. According to internal reports available to Bild, there is talk of legal and financial consequences.
A spokesperson for Cariad told Bild that development partnerships are continually reviewed to see whether they continue to fit the company’s strategic goals. However, technology and the market in Europe have developed differently than expected at the beginning of the partnership. Bosch agreed with these statements. However, neither gives any statements on the content of confidential conversations with partners.
The separation could probably be seen as a further measure of the savings program, as the group hopes to save millions by purchasing the technologies externally instead of developing them in-house.
Tonia Schöler is a volunteer at Human Resources.
