CARIAD Will Be VW's Future Vehicle Integrated Software Architecture

CARIAD appears at CES 2023. (photo: Twitter @cariad)

JAKARTA - Volkswagen's software division, CARIAD, has been instructed by VW's new CEO to become a unified software architecture for future vehicles. This was disclosed by the Head of CARIAD, Dirk Hilgenberg.

"I call our program the 'triple jump,'" Hilgenberg told Reuters at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas. "You do one jump at a time."

A key next step will be the launch of the Porsche Macan SUV in 2024, which will incorporate VW's new premium software architecture.

Volkswagen's target is a "unified" software and electronic architecture for all VW group vehicles. Target will rely on Qualcomm's "system on a chip" semiconductors in Europe and North America, and in China will use super-chips developed with Chinese partner Horizon Robotics.

"We are not allowed to pull data from China," Hilgenberg said. Volkswagen has promised investors an update on the progress of the software in March.

Delays and cost overruns at CARIAD were among the factors behind VW's supervisory board's decision last summer to fire Herbert Diess as CEO and replace him with Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that a new software platform intended to enable "Level 4" autonomous driving, which will be implemented across the fleet from 2026, will be pushed back to the end of the decade. One source said it could be early 2028.

Hilgenberg declined to discuss specific dates. "Let's send the product," he said.

He illustrated the CARIAD challenge using a slide showing three diagrams representing the vehicle's electronic systems. VW's old approach was to use 120 tiny computers controlling separate functions.

The future is shown with schematics of electric cars ruled by a single master "system on a chip" - powerful enough to run an automated driving system, stream video to the dashboard, and transmit data about driving behavior, charging habits, battery life, and other functions. back to VW via "Cloud".

Volkswagen's current status is somewhere in between: The software now in use allows its electric vehicle "ID" to be updated remotely, with a fix for what Hilgenberg called a "teething problem".

Blume ordered a review of CARIAD's strategy last year. Hilgenberg said that rethinking required six weeks of "intensive, sometimes emotional workshops".

"CARIAD has no plans to cut staff," Hilgenberg said. But they will have a renewed focus on efficiency. For now, the company will focus on delivering "Level 3" automated driving systems, on select highways, under certain conditions, in partnership with Bosch. Meanwhile, a full self-driving driving system for consumers will come later.