VW forms driverless subsidiary

Volkswagen (VW) has formed an autonomy subsidiary in the German cities of Munich and Wolfsburg with the aim of developing a self-driving system (SDS). The company says Volkswagen Autonomy (VWAT) is to work with Argo AI to establish an SDS as a standard module for all group brands in the future. In July, VW agreed to collaborate more closely in autonomy with Ford which includes a stake in Argo AI. As part of the deal, VWAT will collaborate with VW Commercial Vehicles to integrate the SDS into purpose-buil
November 15, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Volkswagen (VW) has formed an autonomy subsidiary in the German cities of Munich and Wolfsburg with the aim of developing a self-driving system (SDS).

The company says Volkswagen Autonomy (VWAT) is to work with Argo AI to establish an SDS as a standard module for all group brands in the future.

In July, VW agreed to collaborate more closely in autonomy with Ford which includes a stake in Argo AI.

As part of the deal, VWAT will collaborate with VW Commercial Vehicles to integrate the SDS into purpose-built robo-taxis and robo-vans.

VW’s senior vice president for autonomous driving Alexander Hitzinger will manage VWAT, which will be responsible for all activities related to autonomous driving from SAE Level 4.

"We will continue to use synergies across all group brands to reduce the cost of self-driving vehicles, high-performance computers and sensors. We plan to start commercialising autonomous driving at a large scale around the middle of the next decade,” he says.

Looking ahead, the company intends to establish two additional subsidiaries to support the development of the SDS in Silicon Valley and China.

Related Content

  • Tech advances create MaaS without compromise
    August 29, 2019
    Advances in technology make it possible for authorities to compile and maintain MaaS platforms cheaply - and without relinquishing control to third parties. Colin Sowman finds out more… It is increasingly clear that local authorities’ reluctance to implement Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is based on politics and finance. However, the technology underpinning MaaS is evolving rapidly and is presenting new solutions. At its heart, the political resistance comes down to the divide between the ethos of public
    Read More
  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
    Read More
  • Mobility pricing offers new tools for managing mobility
    November 23, 2017
    Mobility pricing is the best way of sustaining and enhancing mobility, argues Moving Forward Consulting’s Josef Czako. Mobility pricing (MP) is effectively the culmination of the ‘user pays’ principle and has been referred to in many policy discussions about electronic toll collection, road user charging (RUC), and pricing. MP not only reflects the ‘use more, pay more’ nature of RUC, it also takes account of the external cost of journeys including pollution, noise, the cost of congestion and accidents.
    Read More
  • Remote remedies help US authorities identify bridge deficiencies
    September 6, 2017
    Every day 185 million vehicles – cars, trucks, school buses, emergency response units - cross one or more of America’s 55,710 'structurally compromised' steel and concrete road bridges, the highest concentration of which are in Iowa (nearly 5,000), Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. Nearly 2,000 of these crossings are located on interstate highways, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association's recent analysis of the US Department of Transportation's 2016 National Bridge Inventory.
    Read More

Highlighted Content