Although the name of Cariad does not sound familiar to many, it is one of the most important bets for the future of Volkswagen, since it is its software division for electric cars. And in a market where the software is the fulcrum of the mainHe, the role of Cariad is vital. The problem is that it has not met expectations, which has caused Volkswagen to fire its management leadership.
The main problem with Cariad, and by extension, with the future of electric Volkswagen, is that this comes from afar. Already last year, the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group pointed out that Cariad’s plans were not enough to fulfill the claims of the group. In other words, they were unambitious for Volkswagen’s electrification plans.
At that time, the Volkswagen board asked Cariad’s management to present a modified plan for the software division. One that was more aligned with the electrification plans, since the board defined the software as the backbone of its strategy. The issue is that Cariad did not comply then and from the start it has struggled to effectively implement the company’s ideas in its cars.
The failure of Cariad, one of the reasons for the departure of Diess
And it’s not just that the implementation of quality software at the level of the competition has been delayed, it’s also that it has delayed, according to autonews, key launches throughout the group. These delays include the Porsche Macan and the new Audi Q6 e-tron.
In fact, according to various sources, it has exceeded its budget and has not met its objectives, contributing to the departure of Diess, the group’s previous CEO, and his replacement by Oliver Blume last September.
Cariad’s supervisory board is expected to approve the layoffs at a meeting next week. According to autonewsonly the division chief of staff, Rainer Zugehör, could stay.
In addition, it has also not met initial plans for the development and implementation of the software for the entire company, initially designed to allow for the fourth of the five levels of autonomous driving from 2026, but it has been postponed for two years.