Mexican Media Brands
VW Forms Autonomous-Driving Unit
Volkswagen AG is creating a new subsidiary, Volkswagen Autonomy GmbH (VWAT), to head development and deployment of Level 4/5 fully autonomous vehicle systems.
Share
Volkswagen AG is creating a new subsidiary, Volkswagen Autonomy GmbH (VWAT), to head the carmaker’s development and deployment of Level 4/5 fully autonomous vehicle systems.
The carmaker aims to launch “large-scale” commercial applications of self-driving vehicles by the middle of the next decade. The initial focus will be on urban applications, with VWAT developing technologies that Volkswagen’s Commercial Vehicles unit will use in robo-taxis and automated delivery vans.
VWAT will be headed by Alexander Hitzinger, Volkswagen Group’s senior vice president for autonomous driving. He also is a member of the Volkswagen brand’s management board, where he is responsible for technical development at the company’s Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles operations.
At launch, the autonomy unit will use facilities in Munich and Wolfsburg. Sites in Silicon Valley and China will be added in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
In addition to leveraging resources throughout VW Group’s brands and business units, VWAT will work with Ford Motor Co.’s Argo AI affiliate. VW invested $1 billion and took a 37% stake in the Silicon Valley-based tech company in July. VWAT’s Munich site will serve as Argo’s European headquarters.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Fuel Cells, Battery Enclosures, and Lucid Air
A skateboard for fuel cells, building a better battery enclosure, what ADAS does, a big engine for boats, the curious case of lean production, what drivers think, and why Lucid is remarkable
-
Plastics: The Tortoise and the Hare
Plastic may not be in the news as much as some automotive materials these days, but its gram-by-gram assimilation could accelerate dramatically.
-
The Koenigsegg Jesko Has An Amazing Engine
It is hard to believe that this is a vehicle in “serial” production with such extraordinary powertrain performance
