VW has called its software division, Cariad, which is the central element in its autonomous driving push, “the most ambitious project of our entire industry to tap into the most relevant profit pools of the future.”
Cariad plans to challenge existing software incumbents, including Apple and Tesla, but has hit bumps in the road, which could become a problem for VW boss Herbert Diess, who is responsible for the unit on the group’s management board.
Spiegel first reported the news, not citing where it obtained the information, adding that the problems at Cariad, which have caused delays to product launches at the automaker, had been discussed at a supervisory board meeting on May 11.
Software has been a sore spot for VW ever since the use of illegal defeat devices resulted in the diesel scandal at the company in 2015, the largest such case to date.