Volkswagen is reportedly restructuring the development of driver assistance systems and automated driving features in Europe. In the future, ADAS specialists from software subsidiary Cariad and the Group’s brands will collaborate more closely within a new organizational unit called ‘OneTeam’. The unit will begin operating in November and will be led by Manuel Birke, current head of driver assistance systems technology at Cariad. This is stated by reports from dpa news agency and also car weekwhich cites an internal message to employees on Volkswagen’s intranet.
The most notable aspect of this restructuring is the new hierarchy: In his position, Birke will report to Audi development board member Rouven Mohr. This means that Audi will take the lead and assume responsibility for the development of ADAS across the Group. “We are creating clear responsibility through the leadership of the leading Audi brand and are jointly leveraging our technological expertise for everyone,” Volkswagen Group development chief Werner Tietz wrote on the intranet, quoted by car week. The new structure aims to accelerate development and enable a technological platform usable across the Group.
A new approach to collaboration
With OneTeam, Volkswagen is also trying to ease tensions between Audi and Cariad. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner is known to be a critic of the software subsidiary. In the past, problems with software development have delayed the launch of key models, such as the Audi Q6 e-tron, which arrived on the market later than originally planned. Therefore, the reorganization can also be seen as an attempt to more clearly assign responsibility for progress and delays.
It is not yet clear whether Audi will mainly exercise stronger control over development within the Group or whether it itself will face greater responsibility. The new unit aims to consolidate experience so that each brand does not have to develop its driving assistance systems independently. Details such as how many employees will join OneTeam and how responsibilities in relation to Cariad will change are not yet known. For now, the creation of an independent company does not seem to be planned.
Cariad seeks a new technological partner
The restructuring comes at a difficult time for Cariad. Volkswagen originally created the software subsidiary to develop software across the Group and reduce dependence on external suppliers. Meanwhile, the Group is increasingly focusing on partnerships. The collaboration between Cariad and Bosch on automated driving functions ended prematurely in July. At the same time, Cariad is cutting around 1,000 jobs in Germany.
For driver assistance systems up to SAE Level 2+, Cariad and Bosch have jointly developed technology that will be used for the first time in the ID compact electric vehicle. Each1. However, for higher levels of automation, up to SAE Level 4, Volkswagen needs further technological advances. According to a report by the mirrorThe group has reportedly decided to work with British artificial intelligence startup Wayve in the future. At the time of writing, a final contract had not yet been confirmed.
Nvidia is also part of the technological ecosystem
Volkswagen’s broad approach to technology partnerships was also evident at the Nvidia GTC conference in Berlin on October 21 and 22. The American company presented new collaborations focused on automated driving. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles presented the autonomous ID. Buzz AD based on Nvidia’s Hyperion platform. It combines computing hardware with a standardized sensor architecture and is designed to simplify the integration of different driving software.
However, this does not mean that Volkswagen will now use Nvidia instead of Wayve for its production passenger cars. The two approaches are different: according to previous media reports, Wayve is expected to primarily provide driving software, while Nvidia offers not only its own software but also a technical platform and tools for development and simulation. Nvidia is also an investor in Wayve and supplies computer hardware for the startup’s autonomous driving projects. A specific combination of Wayve software and Nvidia hardware for Volkswagen has yet to be confirmed.
Additionally, Volkswagen, Porsche and Cariad are working together with Nvidia, Microsoft Azure and data platform provider Voxel51 on a platform that will use real-world driving data for the training and validation of automated driving systems. Nvidia provides tools to process training data and for the virtual reconstruction of real-world driving situations, among other things. These methods are intended to shorten development cycles and reduce the need for repeated test drives.
heise.de (DE), automobilwoche.de (DE)
