Volkswagen is still in trouble after cutting 30% of its software department employees. Porsche turns to Google for breakthrough

On October 31, Porsche announced that future brand models will use Google's navigation, voice assistant and ecosystem because its parent company Volkswagen encountered difficulties in software and had to lay off 30% of the employees of its software subsidiary CARIAD. 91che believes that Porsche's move reflects the fierce competition and rapid changes facing the smart car market.

CARIAD is an automotive software company under the Volkswagen Group, focusing on providing intelligent solutions for Volkswagen's automotive brands, including in-vehicle infotainment systems, digital dashboards, cloud services, etc. CARIAD was founded in 2020 and is led by former Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess. It plans to invest 7 billion euros and employ more than 6,000 employees.

However, Volkswagen has always been dissatisfied with CARIAD's performance. Slow development progress, many problems with the car computer, and budget overruns have led to a decline in Volkswagen's competitiveness in the smart car market. In May of this year, Volkswagen fired CARIAD's CEO, CTO, and CFO and carried out a high-level reorganization. On October 30, Volkswagen announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs at CARIAD, accounting for 30% of the total workforce.

The layoffs will further delay CARIAD's new software architecture. According to reports, CARIAD originally planned to launch a car operating system called Arene in 2025, but it has now been postponed to 2027. The car machine version 1.2 developed by CARIAD, which was supposed to be deployed on the Audi Q6 E-Tron and Porsche Macan, has also been delayed and is expected to be delayed by 16 to 18 weeks.

Faced with software challenges, Porsche chose to seek external cooperation. Porsche said that future models will use Google's navigation, voice assistant and ecosystem. However, Porsche did not disclose which models will be equipped with the system first and when.

Porsche is the latest automaker to announce the adoption of Google's built-in system after Honda, General Motors, Polestar, Volvo and Ford. However, Porsche said it may still allow users to use mobile phone mirroring functions such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Porsche chose Google's built-in system to cope with the fierce competition and rapid changes in the smart car market. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that China will achieve autonomous driving in low-speed scenarios between 2020 and 2025. In 2035, China will become the world's largest smart car market.

In such a huge and volatile market, automakers need to continuously improve their software capabilities and ecological advantages to meet consumers' needs for intelligence, personalization, and convenience. Porsche's cooperation with Google may bring it more innovation and value. But at the same time, it also has to face the privacy and security risks that may be brought by the Google ecosystem. At the same time, the layoffs and reorganization of Volkswagen's software subsidiary CARIAD also make people worry about whether it can restore its strength and confidence in software development in the future. There are still many uncertainties and challenges in the future of the smart car market. Automakers need to continue to explore and innovate to remain invincible in this change.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.