Volkswagen, Bosch cooperate on automotive software – Handelsblatt

FILE PHOTO: The VW logo is seen at the site of the first hearing of a class action lawsuit by a consumer group on behalf of Volkswagen owners against VW over an engine emissions cheating scandal diesel, at the Higher District Court in Braunschweig, Germany, September 30, 2019. REUTERS / Michele Tantussi

December 11, 2021

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s software unit Cariad and car supplier Bosch are close to reaching an agreement to cooperate on automotive software, Handelsblatt reported, citing company sources.

Volkswagen plans to invest the amount of 3 million euros as part of the deal, the newspaper added.

Volkswagen has focused all of its software efforts on the Cariad, hoping it can challenge Tesla and Alphabet in an area where they have long been inactive.

Cariad ranks high on Volkswagen’s transformation programme, with Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess assuming unit responsibility on the group’s board this week as part of a reshuffle.

Diess sees software as a key battleground in the future of the auto industry, from operating systems that enable autonomous driving to software services that can be installed over the network.

Cariad, which is granted 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) a year by Volkswagen, declined to comment. Bosch was not immediately available for comment.

(1 dollar = 0.8841 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Holmes)