New cars are more and more like moving computers. The software is therefore becoming increasingly important, especially when it comes to electric vehicles, which are then also supposed to drive partially or completely autonomously, the model being Tesla. But Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, is currently having problems in software development. There are always starting difficulties and delays in the development of the company’s own car software in the group, and that causes a lot of trouble – for the customers and in the group.
Now VW CEO Oliver Blume wants to take action. He replaces almost the entire top management of the IT subsidiary Cariad. Three out of four board members have to go, only the HR director remains. The new Cariad boss on June 1 will be Peter Bosch, who has previously been head of production for the British luxury brand Bentley, the company also belongs to VW. He is considered a renovator who has also got Bentley on track in recent years. Bosch is the right boss at the right time, said Blume. And he praised: “He is a strategist, implementer and team player. He has successfully proven that at Bentley. He knows the Volkswagen Group well and also has extensive change and consulting experience”. The company is now apparently to be completely realigned. “Cariad will develop the vehicles of the future even more from software to hardware,” said VW.
Peter Bosch takes over the management of Cariad, he previously worked for the Bentley group.
(Photo: dpa)
Is that enough? And is that fast enough? The problems at Cariad are at least considered large. The significant difficulties with the IT had previously thrown the entire model planning of the VW group into disarray, the cars could be built in part, but then not delivered because of the faulty software. Around 6,000 employees work in software development at VW worldwide. Blume’s predecessor, Herbert Diess, wanted to make IT development a central element of the group’s reorientation. The delays in software development were also considered one of the reasons for the surprisingly quick replacement of Diess last summer.
“We are accelerating our pace and opening up further for partnerships,” said Blume. The software is to be linked even more closely with vehicle development. In addition, the new boss must be supported by two proven software experts on the board. Cariad will implement the relevant personal details in a timely manner. The cooperation with the brands of the group should be further developed.
There has also been a lot of trouble here lately. The faltering IT development in important vehicle projects such as the e-models from Porsche and Audi has led to delays that have not helped the two brands in the fight against Tesla. Bosch replaces the previous Cariad boss Dirk Hilgenberg. “We would like to thank Dirk Hilgenberg’s team for their passionate commitment and the progress they have made,” said Blume. There are talks about “possible new tasks within the group”.