Bosch And VW Subsidiaries Develop Level 2 Autonomous Steering System

VW and Bosch subsidiaries develop autonomous driving systems. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA – Software company Cariad, which is also a subsidiary of Volkswagen and auto equipment supplier, Bosch, is collaborating to develop a software system for automated driving used in Volkswagen cars.

According to the company's statement, on Tuesday, January 25, the partners will develop a Level 2 autonomous driving system, using data from the Volkswagen fleet. The system allows hands-free driving in cities, rural areas and on roads. It will even upgrade and develop a Level 3 autonomous driving system that takes over all road driving functions.

They hope to be able to implement Level 2 software in Volkswagen vehicles starting in 2023.

After an undetermined waiting time, Bosch will also bring the technology to foreign markets, its head of software Matthias Pillin said in a press statement on Tuesday.

"Partnerships in software development are not uncommon ... once you create the relevant IP, you can go your own way," said Cariad CEO Dirk Hilgenberg, as quoted by Reuters.

This partnership is the second announced this year by the company. Last week VW also said it would set up a joint venture to equip its battery cell factory with engines to produce their electric car.

They did not disclose how much they would invest in either deal.

Both Volkswagen and Bosch have combined their software operations into a single division to strengthen their offerings in the face of competition, especially with electric car manufacturer Tesla, as well as other Big Tech companies such as Alphabet Inc (google) which are also expanding into the automotive sector.

Volkswagen targets Cariad to supply 60% of the software in Volkswagen vehicles by 2025, up from 10% when the unit was founded in 2020.

But the competition for talent makes the technology so intense today, and it takes a high upfront investment to develop the software's capabilities from scratch. While many automakers are also in need of funding for electrification and battery development, some are forming partnerships.

Volkswagen has invested $2.6 billion in self-driving startup Argo AI, which is developing Level 4 autonomous vehicles, where the car can control most situations independently but the driver can ask for control, for a shared fleet.

Bosch and Daimler also announced plans in 2017 to build a joint 'robo-taxi' automated drive fleet - but the partnership was scrapped in 2021, months after Daimler's CEO highlighted the high costs and risks involved in the project.

Daimler's self-driving system is already considered state-of-the-art, becoming the first manufacturer to get regulatory approval for a hands-free driving system in December 2021.

"Volkswagen and Bosch don't have this agreement yet," Hilgenberg said.