Transformation to technology company Volkswagen hits the development turbo

Part of the digital ecosystem.

The car of tomorrow communicates with its environment. It benefits from digital assistance systems and virtual upgrades, which are constantly implementing improvements. Volkswagen’s flagship project is called Trinity – a next generation car that is capable of Level 4 autonomous driving and due to be launched in 2026. Level 4 means that the car can drive autonomously in normal use, while the person behind the wheel is largely a passenger.

Trinity also marks the debut of the new group architecture SSP (Scalable Systems Platform), which will form the basis for all passenger car brands within the Volkswagen Group, and with it over 40 million vehicles. It will be used by Volkswagen for the first time in 2026 in the Trinity project, and will merge the MEB and PPE e-platforms. As is already the case with the MEB, the SSP will also be open to third-party providers.

Embedding the car in a digital ecosystem not only creates a new mobility experience, but also contributes to the energy revolution and with it climate protection. For example: smart electric cars not only consume electricity – they can also feed it back into the home network. The car becomes a power bank on wheels. Volkswagen will introduce bidirectional charging as early as this year, with the ID.5.

Software-defined product.

For automobile manufacturers like Volkswagen, digitalisation is at least as big a job as electrification. While the Golf II hit the streets with 50,000 lines of programming code for its control units in 1980, today’s models can have up to 100 million lines – ten times as many as are to be found in a smartphone. This figure is set to increase dramatically in the near future, in fully connected, fully automated cars. Experts believe it could as much as treble.

Updates and new business models.

The rapid progress of software is made possible by Digital Lifecycle Management (DLCM). While customers previously had to decide upon an equipment variant when purchasing their car, they will soon be able to flexibly modify software functions to meet their needs. Updates and upgrades ensure that the product improves consistently over time and is always state-of-the-art. As such, depreciation in value is also kept to a minimum.

New software features can also be added flexibly after the purchase (Functions on Demand, FoD). Volkswagen’s first over-the-air update (OTA) was transmitted to customer vehicles via the mobile network in the summer of 2021. In the future, the company will offer regular updates.

This strategy allows Volkswagen to lay the foundations for new business models and greater flexibility. Take autonomous driving, for example: in the future, customers will not only be able to acquire their autopilots whilst purchasing the car, but also at a later date – for a holiday trip, for example. Flexible billing by the hour makes this technology available for many people.

Work agilely, develop faster.

Even in the early stages of development, engineers consider the requirements of adjoining systems – whether charging or Smart Home – and incorporate them in their work. The new interdisciplinary way of working saves time and costs, and increases efficiency. In doing so, the TD division is focusing more on agile methods and organising the tasks into sprints. The result: a new vehicle project now takes roughly 40 months of development instead of 54, as was previously the case. The basis is a basic software architecture, which is being consistently developed in increasingly rapid evolution cycles. Production also benefits from the new way, in which developers are working. For example, the production time of the Trinity will amount to just ten hours – roughly half that of today’s cars.

Qualifications for secure jobs.

Requirements in development have changed completely. The focus is shifting from pure mechanics to software integration. As a result, Volkswagen is investing in the training of its 12,000 TD employees, taking them out of the world of combustion engines and preparing them for the electric and digital future. Consequently, attractive and secure jobs in a future-oriented industry are being created in Wolfsburg.

The project house will act as an umbrella for design, conceptualization, user experience, product strategy, model series, technical project management and project team members from Purchasing, Finance, Production Planning, Quality Assurance and Sales. The integration center will ensure short, efficient approval and decision-making paths between the different divisions. Its innovative testing and simulation infrastructure and the open design of the collaboration areas will provide a first-rate environment for active systems engineering.