Volkswagen on the way to becoming an electronics company
VW CEO Herbert Diess sees no alternative. Volkswagen has to accelerate the electrification of its fleet again.
(Photo: Reuters)
Düsseldorf Volkswagen not only has to ensure the rapid expansion of electric mobility. At the same time, the Wolfsburg-based car company must also advance the digitization of its cars. Read the statement from VW CEO Herbert Diess at the Handelsblatt Auto Summit 2020:
In order to achieve the climate targets, we have to electrify our vehicle fleet quickly. To do this, we are putting the new electric models required on the road and quickly building up production capacities for vehicles and batteries. The rollout of our new e-fleet began in the summer of this year and will pick up speed significantly in 2021.
For the Green Deal, much more effort is required in order to ultimately be able to deliver more than 50 percent electric vehicles in 2030. Volkswagen alone will need two additional Giga cell factories for this from 2025. In addition, a capacity expansion of the entire value chain for e-vehicles is necessary – another great opportunity for the restructuring of the supplier industry.
The real transformation in our industry is not taking place with e-vehicles, but rather with vehicles becoming the most intelligent and at the same time most valuable internet devices.
The battle for sovereignty over these devices is entering a new phase. Google is penetrating our control architecture of the car via Android Auto and the data world as well as the customer loyalty of smartphones with vehemence and with a claim to control. At the same time, the Alphabet subsidiary is developing the car’s new brain that will replace the driver.
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Tesla, on the other hand, has to be seen as the world’s largest neural network that is learning to drive better every week. So far we as the German automotive industry – suppliers and manufacturers – have had too little to counter this.
Together, Volkswagen and Ford are trying to create a serious competitor to Waymo with “Argo AI”. And we are bundling all of our software and electronics expertise in Car.Software.Org, continuously buying new skills and capacities in order to start with our own software stack by 2024 at the latest. This is how we secure our independence. We will roll out this operating system across the entire vehicle fleet, collect intensive data during vehicle operation and continuously improve the driving functions.
Volkswagen will evolve from a collection of valuable brands, fascinating internal combustion engine powered products that inspire customers with the highest level of engineering. Towards a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices around the world, always stays in contact with customers and improves services, vehicle comfort and safety on a weekly basis, better every day.
More: The German auto industry will change – or go under.