VW subsidiary Cariad and Bosch are working together - new functions in VW models as early as 2023

Created: 01/25/2022, 14:44

Bosch and VW subsidiary Cariad join forces: A Bosch employee drives a car that is being used as a prototype for autonomous driving.

© Daniel Naupold/dpa/symbol image

The VW subsidiary Cariad and supplier Bosch have joined forces.

Their goal: the functions of autonomous driving should become suitable for the masses more quickly.

Frankfurt – The VW software subsidiary Cariad and the automotive supplier Bosch are joining forces to develop automated driving*.

The cooperation is intended to make functions that temporarily take over driving faster for the masses, the companies said on Tuesday.

In addition, a software platform for partially and highly automated driving is being developed.

The cooperation will strengthen Germany as a location for innovation in a key future area of ​​the auto industry, explained Cariad boss Dirk Hilgenberg.

As the world's leading companies in the industry, they could achieve a "giant step for the development of automated driving".

The first functions are to be introduced in the Volkswagen models in 2023

The first functions such as automatic distance keeping are to be introduced in models of all brand groups of the Volkswagen Group in 2023.

However, they should not be exclusive to VW*, so that Bosch can also offer them to other customers and set new standards, as Bosch Managing Director Markus Heyn explained.

Bosch and Cariad also want to tackle completely driverless driving on defined routes such as motorways - according to the globally valid definition, the fourth and penultimate level of automation.

They plan to have more than 1000 professionals from both houses work on the software.

One advantage of the cooperation is the large fleet of cars available through the VW Group, in which data can be permanently collected in the future in order to expand the technology.

Bosch had previously worked with Daimler on a similar project

Until last year, Bosch had been working on a similar major project with Daimler.

In order to share costs and pool know-how, the two Stuttgart-based companies had been working on the development of robotic taxis with test fleets in the USA since 2018.

Daimler had cut funds for this at the end of 2019 because the carmaker's capital requirements were too high and the profit prospects too uncertain.

In the middle of last year it was said that the cooperation had ended.

In December, Daimler's passenger car subsidiary Mercedes-Benz announced that it was the first manufacturer in the world to have the go-ahead for the use of highly automated driving and to introduce it in Germany in the luxury S-Class* model in the first half of the year.