China is a particularly dynamic market for autonomous driving. The VW Group wants to build up local expertise there and become more independent. As a first step, the Wolfsburg-based company will set up a joint venture worth billions.
The Volkswagen Group wants to make a major investment in the development of its own technologies for autonomous driving in China, the most important car market. The internal software division Cariad and its future partner Horizon Robotics confirmed the planned establishment of a joint venture.
The Germans want to put about 2.4 billion euros into the cooperation and hold a 60 percent stake in the company. Around 1.3 billion euros are earmarked for the joint venture in the narrower sense. If the authorities agree, the step should be implemented in the first half of 2023.
It’s about the co-design of software and specialized microchips for highly automated and ultimately autonomous driving. China is a particularly dynamic market here. Horizon Robotics is primarily concerned with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and networking platforms for transport systems.
According to information from VW group circles on Wednesday, the joint venture would form a central building block in the digitization and China strategy of Europe’s largest car group. The aim is to build up local expertise in the People’s Republic in the business with its own software and electronics and to become more independent.
Cariad made significant progress on software updates for the existing vehicle fleet in the second quarter. However, the loss in ongoing business almost doubled from 502 million to 978 million euros.