The interim conclusion is sobering. The schedule for the unified software platform is shaky. And the approach of largely forgoing the help of digital corporations and bundling all the top coders from Audi, Porsche and VW in the separate company Cariad could prove to be a major mistake.
“We believe that Cariad as an organization is too far behind the tech companies to build up the necessary internal know-how quickly enough,” recently stated UBS analyst Patrick Hummel. The result: Ironically, a group like Opel’s parent company Stellantis, which was long considered a technological laggard, is now preparing to overtake the Wolfsburg-based company with a completely different strategy than VW.
“We deliberately cooperate with third parties on the software,” Yves Bonnefont, Chief Software Officer at Stellantis, told Handelsblatt. Companies from other sectors have far more experience with topics such as 5G Internet, cloud services, voice control, artificial intelligence and multimedia content. “We want to benefit from that. Why should we start here from scratch?” Bonnefont wonders about VW going it alone.
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“It takes a lot of time before you have hired the right people.” With partners like Amazon or the Apple supplier Foxconn, on the other hand, Stellantis is much “faster on the road,” explains the former McKinsey manager. And in the end it comes down to speed and implementation strength. “In the end, all that matters is whether you actually succeed in realizing your plan,” emphasizes Bonnefont.
In principle, his group’s plan is as ambitious as that of VW. The big difference: Stellantis wants to transfer all vehicles of its 14 brands from 2024 to an open software platform, from the small Fiat to the Peugeot sedan to the massive RAM pick-up. The rival from Wolfsburg, on the other hand, relies on closed systems in key areas. VW wants to develop the most important functions in the car software itself.
For example, VW customers should only be able to access Google’s Android features in the App Store to a limited extent in the future. “There will be a gatekeeper here,” explained a Cariad manager. “Certainly not all Android apps will be able to run on the VW system.” In other words: VW customers should only use VW apps if possible.
Based on the interests of the vehicle owners, Cariad announced that its own offer would be selectively expanded by “interfaces to the ecosystems of tech companies”. However, the final decision as to which apps from Google, Apple or Amazon come into the car rests with VW.
Stellantis uses proven software
Stellantis takes a completely different approach when it comes to entertainment. “Amazon provides us with an ecosystem with videos, music and games,” says software boss Bonnefont. His customers know what they are getting right from the start. In addition, Stellantis uses language assistants and entertainment concepts that have been tried and tested for a long time and only have to be adapted for use in the vehicles.
In theory, VW’s approach of writing as much software as possible itself promises greater added value. In reality, however, the Lower Saxony run the risk of getting tangled up and possibly being left with software that is hardly competitive. A number of problems are already emerging. Cariad is apparently still struggling to unite the best developers from all corporate brands under the umbrella of the special department, according to corporate circles.
Example Porsche: The sports car manufacturer has sent some programmers to Cariad, but at the same time continues to work on its own software solutions for its vehicles. In Wolfsburg it is an open secret that Porsche has little interest in a basic operating system that should run on all brand vehicles.
Especially with a view to the planned IPO of Porsche, the Stuttgart-based company could withdraw from the joint development in the VW group and intensify the development of its own software. Cariad denies such plans, but tensions within the VW family are undeniable. Especially since the development of the new technology platform is behind schedule. Audi’s Artemis project will not start until 2025 instead of 2024 as originally planned.
Cockpit by Foxconn, infotainment by Amazon
A few weeks ago, Daniela Cavallo, head of the VW works council, complained that Cariad lacked the necessary trust. Perhaps also because the unit only has half of the announced 10,000 software engineers under contract. Those who are already on board also came to the company through acquisitions and first have to get used to the idiosyncratic cooperation with the individual brands.
Cariad itself sees the path it has taken as the only alternative in order to permanently defend the interface to customers against the so-called “hyperscalers”. In other words, if you let the tech companies penetrate too deeply into the networked vehicles of tomorrow, you will probably never get rid of them again.
Stellantis software chief Yves Bonnefont sees things more calmly. His group has made a pact with Foxconn for smart cockpits and semiconductors and with Amazon for infotainment. “But we won’t be dependent on these partners forever. At the same time, we are massively upgrading ourselves.”
Specifically, Stellantis wants to build a team of 4,500 software engineers over the next two years. Most of these are likely to be reassigned. Above all, they should develop “STLA Brain”. This new electronics architecture should enable software updates of more than 30 modules and thus increase the speed of development by a factor of twenty.
“Meanwhile, the existing software teams continue to work on their existing projects,” says Bonnefont. This approach offers many advantages and clearly differentiates Stellantis from competitors. “Because if you turn everything that exists upside down and isolate thousands of specialists in a new special unit with its own corporate culture, you run the risk of projects being delayed and quality problems occurring.” A dig at VW and Cariad. It shouldn’t have been the last.
More: Full responsibility for Cariad: VW boss Diess takes over management of the supervisory board of the software subsidiary.