VW CEO Open to Third Parties Taking Stakes in Software Unit
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Volkswagen AG is open to external partners taking stakes in the manufacturer鈥檚 new software division as traditional automakers fight to catch up with Tesla Inc. on digital features.
Europe鈥檚 biggest carmaker could 鈥渋n principle鈥 offer equity stakes in its software unit called Cariad, CEO Herbert Diess said Nov. 30 in a video published on VW鈥檚 intranet.
While the company isn鈥檛 currently in concrete discussions on equity ties, VW is in talks with major suppliers such as Continental AG or Robert Bosch GmbH to cooperate on software, Diess said.
VW鈥檚 Cariad, set up as an agile, stand-alone business to pool the carmaker鈥檚 sprawling software efforts, has had a number of setbacks to get off the ground. After electrification, gaining speed on developing software architectures to offer digital and automated-driving features carmakers can charge extra for is fast becoming the next battleground.
Deep rivalries, differing timelines and antitrust regulation concerns have so far made tie-ups between automakers a rarity, even as the industry has identified opportunities to save on costs and time.
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