Volkswagen to discuss new software roadmap on Dec 15

VOLKSWAGEN chief executive Oliver Blume will present a long-delayed new software strategy for the carmaker at a supervisory board meeting on Dec 15, Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday (Dec 5), citing company sources.

The strategy will lay out how Blume aims to make the carmaker’s proprietary software competitive and market-ready by the end of the decade, an ambition that will cost the company 1 billion euros (S$1.4 billion), Handelsblatt reported.

The Audi brand will hand over leadership on autonomous driving software to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, the report added.

Volkswagen declined to comment to Handelsblatt and was not immediately available to comment to Reuters.

The supervisory board called in May for management to present a roadmap for the carmakers’ software unit Cariad, after multiple years of delays to planned new software iterations and overspending.

The board expected a new roadmap by the summer break, Reuters reported, but former chief executive Herbert Diess’ departure from the company delayed plans.

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New chief Blume wants to first determine what the software will look like, and then the car models will follow, Handelsblatt reported.

Cariad chief executive Dirk Hilgenberg said in a letter to employees in November that the company was giving itself more time to build its new software 2.0 platform, without providing a specific timeframe. REUTERS