Cariad is responsible for software development within the Volkswagen Group. As a result, the navigation solution created with Tomtom will be rolled out in the vehicles of the Volkswagen Group brands – starting with Audi. According to the partners, the new system has a special routing and range service that takes into account traffic, the availability of charging stations in real-time and driving style to suggest suitable charging stops.
The system monitors the vehicle’s remaining range throughout the journey and reacts dynamically. It is based on TomTom’s cloud-native navigation software. The solution switches to the onboard software if no data connection is available to ensure continuous availability.
“We’re proud to celebrate another milestone with Volkswagen Group,” said Benoit Joly, Senior Vice President for Automotive Sales at TomTom. “Today, TomTom’s technologies are already integrated in millions of Volkswagen Group vehicles, and we look forward to continuing to innovate together to enhance the driver experience.”
“By combining Cariad’s software and integration competence with TomTom’s expertise in location technology, we are bringing a next-generation navigation system to vehicles of the Volkswagen Group […],” said Thomas Günther, Chief Launch Officer at Cariad. “Together, we have developed an innovative solution that integrates seamlessly with the digital cockpit and offers the driver a reliable, fast, and intuitive in-vehicle experience.”
Cariad urgently needs reliable new-generation software solutions, as the Volkswagen subsidiary has been lagging far behind in recent years. As a result, Cariad has become a bottleneck for new vehicle launches. Electric cars from Porsche and Audi are known to have been severely delayed as a result – in some cases by up to three years. Volkswagen now focuses on alliances with startups such as Rivian and Xpeng in parallel with its own software development. This change in strategy reveals that Volkswagen is desperately looking for other ways to keep pace in the upcoming mega-market of software-defined vehicles.
