Volkswagen and Bosch want to democratize autonomous driving

Breakthroughs in autonomous driving have already been announced many times by eager marketers, but are still a long time coming. Now Volkswagen and Bosch, the largest car manufacturer and the largest supplier, are preparing to take automated driving out of its niche and turn it into a mass product. The two companies also want to prove that, in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the German automotive industry can keep up with relevant developments by international tech giants such as Amazon, Baidu, Google and Intel.

VW's software division Cariad and Bosch are working together on the future of automated driving in an inconspicuous industrial estate in Ingolstadt, reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS). During a test drive of the already developed technology in a VW ID.Buzz converted into a test vehicle, it drove at 110 kilometers per hour on the busy A9 freeway despite poor weather conditions. 20 such robo-cars are currently driving on public roads in Europe, Japan and the USA with the aim of collecting practical data for training the AI software.

The joint project between Cariad and Bosch, the Automated Driving Alliance founded in 2022, has an ambitious timetable. Both companies announced to FAS that their self-developed, AI-based software should be ready for use in production vehicles by mid-2026. Their focus is not on robo-taxis such as those from VW's Moia division, Waymo or Lyft in cooperation with Baidu. Rather, it is about automated driving in private vehicles that is not limited to geographically restricted areas.

Bundling and optimizing

"We are not developing a niche product," Cariad CEO Peter Bosch emphasized to the FAS. "Thanks to VW's high volumes, we can offer this technology in such a way that many people can afford it and we can earn money with it at the same time." The German cooperation partners are thus following in the footsteps of Chinese electric car champion BYD. The latter recently announced its intention to democratize automated driving and also offer it in affordable small cars at no extra charge.

The collaboration is also intended to strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty through in-house development and reduce dependence on US companies such as Nvidia or Qualcomm, with whom other German car manufacturers such as Mercedes and BMW work.

A "breakthrough" for Cariad and Bosch would not lie in an entirely new invention but in the ability to bundle and optimize the complex and expensive technology. This could make it affordable and reliable for a wide range of customers. Until now, "autopilots" from German manufacturers have been expensive optional extras that are often only available in premium vehicles.

Not fully autonomous driving

VW and Bosch initially want to launch their technology on the market next year with automation level 2. This means that drivers will be able to take their hands off the steering wheel on the highway. However, they must be ready to take control at any time. In the long term, the partners are aiming for level 3 (highly automated). Here, the car assumes full responsibility and the manufacturer is liable in the event of an accident. This higher level should also work on country roads and in cities as soon as the legal framework allows it. Level 5 is the level of fully autonomous driving.

In order to perfect their software, VW and Bosch are relying on massive data collection. According to the report, they want to send around 100 more test vehicles onto the road. In addition, the developers – could use driving data from 45 million conventional VW cars worldwide to train their AI models with the consent of the owners –.

(nen)