Volkswagen To Invest $4 billion in Digital Businesses and Products

Source: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Volkswagen plans to invest $4 billion in digital products and businesses by 2025. The investments will include a cloud computing platform that will enable services like car sharing by connecting vehicles and customers. Other products include a new software operating system known as "vw.OS," a car-sharing business called "We Share," and an application that will allow vehicles to be used as delivery locations by vendors like Amazon. VW estimates that by 2025, the new digital services will generate close to 1 billion euros in sales. 

The new software operating system (vw.OS) will first be used in the brand's electric vehicles, which will be built with a brand new electronic architecture that assists in autonomous driving functions. VW has announced that the software will begin its rollout in VW brand electric vehicles beginning in 2020. The intention of this software is to avoid a future where vehicles have dozens of independent controllers and sensors operating independently. Additionally, by developing the software in-house, VW will be able to provide software updates over-the-air.  

VW's car sharing business (We Share) will begin its rollout in Berlin during the second quarter of 2019. The We Share service will start in Berlin with a fleet of 2,000 electric cars and will eventually be expanded to other core European markets and select cities in Canada and the US. 


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