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

  • Sampo Hietanen’s mobility mission
    June 17, 2016
    For a decade Sampo Hietanen harboured a vision of an alternative form of mobility, now as CEO of MaaS Finland he is putting theory into practice. Sampo Hietanen has become the embodiment of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – a concept he created 10 years ago while working for Finnish civil engineering giant Destia. “I had been working with the mobile sector on traffic information and started thinking what will happen when this becomes bigger,” he says.
    Read More
  • America fires V2V starting gun
    April 7, 2014
    Leo McCloskey, ITS America’s senior vice president for Technical Programs, talks to Jason Barnes about what the recent NHTSA ruling on light vehicle connectivity means for cooperative infrastructures in North America. In early February the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it had decided to start taking steps to enable Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. In so doing, the many safety-related applicati
    Read More
  • IBTTA 2011 Annual Meeting highlights developing trends in tolling
    January 26, 2012
    Alain Estiot, chief meeting organiser of this year's IBTTA Annual Meeting and Exhibition, talks about hot topics for discussion. The IBTTA's 79th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, which takes place this year in Berlin in September, will once again take many of the developing trends from around the world and look at their effects on the tolling sector. Host organisation Toll Collect's Alain Estiot, chief meeting organiser, says that the event has to be viewed against a backdrop of major global change.
    Read More
  • Migrating to advanced traffic management systems
    March 14, 2012
    Rich pickings of reduced cost and greater value are up for grabs as highway authorities migrate to new traffic management systems – if they choose their paths wisely. Jon Masters reports. Experience gained and expertise developed over the past decade are informing good advice for transport agencies contemplating new or expanded traffic management systems. Technological projects aimed at reducing road congestion may be frequently unique and invariably complex, but a picture is emerging of sensible, prudent a
    Read More

Highlighted Content