Volkswagen Group’s software unit Cariad will likely bring its next generation 2.0 platform to market towards 2027 or 2028, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said.
The software will enable Level 4 autonomous driving and is due to be implemented across the group from 2026 but its development has suffered delays.
Antlitz said the company first wanted to concentrate on a version of the platform that will be implemented from next year in premium all-electric models including the Porsche electric Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron.
“There will be great cars on that platform… that gives us a little flexibility to postpone 2.0 to 2027, 2028,” Antlitz said at a Financial Times conference on Thursday.
The electric Macan and Q6 e-tron have been delayed because the software is not ready. Software problems have also pushed back VW brand’s Trinity flagship EV toward the end of the decade.
VW Group CEO Oliver Blume has appointed Bentley production chief Peter Bosch to lead Cariad, which has been dogged by delays and overspending since it was set up by former CEO Herbert Diess.
“This will be a very strong team that focuses on the turnaround of Cariad,” Antlitz said. The aim was to rely more on outside partners and do less in-house to reduce cash burn as the carmaker attempts to build up its software expertise, he said.
VW Group’s ultimate goal is a unified software and electronics architecture for all group vehicles. It will rely on Qualcomm “system on a chip” semiconductors in Europe and North America, and in China will use super-chips developed with Chinese partner Horizon Robotics.