Volkswagen
Christian Senger, Software Director at Volkswagen (Bild Archiv)
The software in the car industry is becoming increasingly important. In Volkswagen cars alone, up to 70 control units with operating software from 200 suppliers are integrated. Volkswagen wants to simplify the software architecture in the vehicles and bundle its competences in a new unit with 5000 digital experts.
Volkswagen wants to bundle and expand its software competences. In the new unit “Car.Software” more than 5000 digital experts are to be summarized by 2025, VW announced on Tuesday.
In the course of rising software component In the vehicles, the own contribution of the software should also be increased to at least 60 percent from currently less than 10 percent by 2025. At present, up to 70 control units with operating software from 200 different suppliers are integrated in Volkswagen cars alone.
The networking of the many software units in the car is now considered the most demanding task in vehicle development. Volkswagen therefore wants to simplify the software architecture in the vehicles. With a combination of systems and the strict separation of software and hardware, the costs for Volkswagen passenger cars are expected to fall by a mid three-digit million euro amount.
Volkswagen
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“We are platform professionals in hardware and now transfer this competence to software development,” explained board member Christian Senger. “We will develop software with uniform basic functions for all Group brands and can thus reduce complexity enormously.” The first car that will be based on the new software platform, is the electric production model ID.3, which will be presented in 2019 at the IAA.
Senger is the leader of the series e-Mobility and as the new brand executive, he is not only concerned with the software development of the VW brand, but is also responsible for these tasks for the entire group. Since 2016, Senger has also been responsible at Volkswagen for the development of the modular electrical construction kit MEB, on which the new E-cars of the ID family are based. He started his career in the automotive industry in 1997 at BMW, where he was responsible for the product concepts of the i3 and i8 from 2010 onwards.
Reiss with Reuters