The cornerstone of the electric car for Volkswagen had to be the software. More than in any other type of car, the software plays an essential role. Tesla As its Chinese rivals and, to a certain extent, BMW have proven, the connected car and good architecture are essential for success.
At stake is the possibility of improving the car or releasing new features via remote updates (OTA) and, of course, payment for use of equipment and services via subscription. But the software, understood as the operating system of its electric cars, is not up to par with its rivals and is becoming a curse for the German consortium. The solution? Partnering with the Chinese company. Xpeng to create software and a common operating system architecture.
If you can not beat them, join them
Volkswagen has been unable to bring its operating system to the desired level and has had a bumpy commercial launch, to the point of having to manually update thousands of Volkswagen ID.3s in the manufacturer’s yards and car parks. In order to catch up with Tesla and the Chinese brands, Volkswagen is looking for allies in the industry. After announcing a 5 billion euro investment in Rivian, to have access to the development of its car software, Volkswagen is teaming up with the Chinese company XPeng.
The two manufacturers will jointly develop an electrical and operating system architecture, the E/E Architecture, based on Volkswagen’s China Main Platform (CMP) and Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) platforms for all locally produced models, according to the company. announced today the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.
According to Volkswagen, the use of a single architecture will reduce system complexity, improve cost-effectiveness and accelerate the digitalisation of the model range in China. The new architecture will not only reduce costs, but will also enable a new generation of driver assistance systems. autonomous driving and “intelligent software functions for the passenger compartment”, i.e. new equipment, functionalities and the opening of the door to paying for the use of this equipment.
Xpeng P7
The two companies have set up joint development centres in Guangzhou and Hefei, where Xpeng and Volkswagen’s technology centre in China are based respectively. The first car equipped with the jointly developed architecture is expected to go into production within two years.
For Volkswagen, partnering with Xpeng gives it Access to valuable software for connected cars that it has struggled to develop on its own. For Xpeng, the partnership adds financial clout and the opportunity to expand globally.
The new architecture, which Volkswagen now refers to as ‘China Electronic Architecture (CEA)‘It will be installed in Chinese electric cars based on the CMP platform from 2026, but also in cars that continue to use the MEB platform.
This platform is the basis of almost the entire electric range of the German group. Volkswagen a Skoda going by Audi y CUPRAThe group’s electric car is essentially a MEB-based model.
This opens the door to the possibility of selling models developed with the XPeng architecture common to our continent in the future in Europe. Or at least, with software inspired by CEA. And Volkswagen is clearly looking for a technology transfer in the software field, whether from XPeng or Rivian.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
