Automotive News Europe — 2024-03-14
Automotive Industry
Product decisions have been made and a project team has been appointed to make SDVs a reality, VW boss Oliver Blume said.
Volkswagen Group aims to have it first software-defined vehicles on the road within the next four years.
"We are gearing toward 2028," VW Group CEO Oliver Blume said. "That's when SDVs are going to be developed hopefully for Audi and Volkswagen."
That is two years later than Renault Group, which has said its SDV will be ready by 2026.
Automakers hope that shifting emphasis to software from hardware will cut development costs, strengthen customer loyalty and increase revenue.
By 2030, digital services could generate as much as $1.5 trn in additional revenue for the global industry, rising to $3.5 trn, amounting to 40% of total automotive industry revenue by 2040, according to research by consultancy Accenture.
However, creating a smartphone-on-wheels requires a complete rethink of vehicle development, new supplier relationships, and an overhaul of corporate culture.
Blume said the VW and Audi brands are working in conjunction with VW Group's software arm, Cariad.
"We have already defined particular products, the project team has been appointed and we also have an SDV hub," Blume said during the automaker's financial results conference on Wednesday, 13 March 2024.
Audi CEO Gernot Doellner wants the premium brand to play a key role in VW Group's future SDVs. Doellner has appointed vehicle platform specialist Lorenz Fuehrlinger as the top-ranking Audi executive at the SDV unit. Fuehrlinger was most recently responsible for VW Group's upcoming SSP underpinnings that Audi will use on its full-electric cars.
Blume said VW Group has "reduced the red tape" to speed up the move to SDVs by simplifying decision-making processes.
He added that VW Group has come to the realization that it needs to work with "big tech" partners rather than small ones, which he said VW Group has been parting ways with.
"We know who we would like to cooperate with," Blume said without naming any partners. "We will not only have a software-defined vehicle, but rather an AI-defined vehicle. The structures have already been set in place for this particular purpose."
When asked whether VW Group would sell its SDV technology to others Blume said the idea was "conceivable" because of the success it has had sharing its MEB full-electric platform. "We are doing this quite successfully with the MEB platform," he said, referring to deals VW has for the platform with India's Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford Motor.
Also on Wednesday (13 March 2024), VW Group said Cariad's revenue from contract licenses rose by roughly 30% to €1.1 bn. That is because its software is being added to more group models.
However, Cariad had an operating loss of more than double its revenue -- €2.4 bn-- the company said. The automaker blamed the loss on the "significant advance payments for future software architectures" Cariad has to make but won't be reimbursed for until it starts collecting license fees once the cars with the technology are launched.