Volkswagen is disbanding the passenger car brand’s Digital & Car Services department and will integrate it into the Group’s recently formed cross-brand Car.Software organisation.
It says all worker employed there will transfer to the Car.Software organisation or, at their own request, strengthen other departments in the company.
The man responsible for Volkswagen passenger car brand Digital & Car Services department and the pioneer behind the Car.Software organisation, Christian Senger has been moved sideways as the company looks to provide him a new role.
Volkswagen has handed the overall responsibility for the Car.Software organisation to Audi chief executive Markus Duesmann, in addition to his group-wide responsibility for research and development.
Car.Software is developing an operating system for all Volkswagen Group models including an automotive data cloud and a new electronics architecture.
Former BMW Group manufacturing and engineering senior vice president Dirk Hilgenberg will be the new chief executive of Car.Software replacing Senger, and the organisation will be based at the IN Campus high-tech hub in Ingolstadt.
“The strong positioning of the Car.Software organisation as a cross-brand unit for software development at the Volkswagen Group is a key step into the future,” Duesmann says.
“I would like to thank Christian Senger for his pioneering work. With the upcoming handover to Dirk Hilgenberg, we will gain a CEO for the Car.Software organization who has extensive international experience in the integration of software products and technologies,” he says.
The full range of functions of the VW.OS operating system will be used for the first time in a new Audi that is to be developed in at “Artemis” – a new agile unit which, in cooperation with the Car.Software organisation, will facilitate acceleration of development processes.
“The close cooperation with all brands and teams will decide the success of the Car.Software organisation,” Duesmann says.
“At Audi, we are assuming a special responsibility as a premium brand. For many of our customers, premium is already defined today primarily through digital technologies that are perfectly tailored to their users. Our aim is for all brands in the Volkswagen Group to benefit from this pioneering role.”
The transition to the agile working mode on July 1 saw many specialists from the Group brands and companies recruited to join the Car.Software organisation.
During the transfer phase, more than 75% of the experts approached have so far decided to work at the new software unit. By the end of the year, more than 5,000 specialists will be working together under the umbrella of the Car.Software organisation.
