VW Retools Design Center for Driver Tech and Services

Volkswagen AG is overhauling its huge design center in Potsdam, Germany, to focus on “user experience” technology and services, Automotive News Europe reports.

The complex opened 11 years ago primarily to develop interior and exterior concepts for the VW Group companies, primarily the VW brand. Renamed the Future Center Europe, the facility has dropped that role. Instead, says Peter Wouda, the center’s design director, the unit will take a longer view of emerging transportation-related technologies and services impacting all brands.

Wouda says much of the center’s new focus will be on autonomous vehicles and how their occupants spend their time in a self-driving car. He notes the topic could lead to create sharp differences among the company’s brands.

More broadly, the center is building a new Digital UX Design team, which will look for ways to enhance the human-machine connection. The unit is led by Ulrike Mueller. He reports to Johann Jungwirth, who heads VW’s new digitalization strategy unit.