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CARIAD, an automotive software company that is part of the Volkswagen Group, announced Thursday the establishment of a subsidiary in China, also releasing an official strategy for the country. The Chinese team has more than 600 employees and will conduct research on localized software.
Chang Qing, CEO of CARIAD China, said the company was recently established under the Volkswagen Group. It has integrated 15 software publishers and today has more than 5,000 employees from more than 70 countries.
He noted that China is leading the digital transformation of mobile travel, where hardware and software are constantly iterated and updated, and consumers have ever-newer needs. Today, China is one of the most dynamic and promising mobile travel markets in the world. For this reason, the Volkswagen Group has decided to create the CARIAD China team. It is also the first branch of CARIAD outside its European headquarters.
The CARIAD subsidiary in China positions itself as the software technology innovation center of the Volkswagen Group in China and has three key priorities for software development.
First, it leads the OTA upgrades of the MEB platform model series, with the first update expected in the second half of 2022.
Second, a high-end software platform is expected to be released within the next couple of years. This platform will be available for models based on the PPE platform and will feature an Android-based infotainment system, as well as an advanced driver assistance system. Both of these systems support OTA in Audi and Porsche models. The CARIAD China team is leading the development of applications for these two systems sensitive to local market conditions.
Third, it plans to launch a unified software platform for all VW Group brands around 2025. This platform will be available for all VW Group brands. At launch, this platform will be pre-equipped with L4 autonomous driving technology.
Regarding talent recruitment, the CARIAD China team already has more than 600 employees and plans to double this number by the end of 2023, with more than 90% of the workforce focused on local software.
In addition, the subsidiary plans to set up a national R&D network. The first steps will be to set up R&D efforts in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hefei.
In order to accelerate R&D, the Chinese subsidiary of CARIAD has set up a process, a methodology and a chain of software development tools, also called PMT (Process, Methodology, Tools), which allow consistency, transparency and the conformity of the products in the delivery.
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During a press conference, CARIAD presented one of its innovations, the “Rainbow” project. This initiative aims to adapt the digital experience of the vehicle to the outfits of the passengers, for example by changing the theme of the office, the color of the ambient light, as well as the greetings and the music.
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