Following problems with software development, Volkswagen is reorganizing its subsidiary Cariad and opening up more to cooperation with tech groups.

"We are accelerating our pace and opening up further to partnerships," explained Group CEO Oliver Blume. To this end, the automotive group is combining its own expertise with the best solutions on the market. Cariad's Supervisory Board also decided on Monday to make a fresh start in terms of personnel: three of the four members of the Management Board will have to leave, only the Chief Human Resources Officer will remain. The new Cariad CEO as of June 1 will be Peter Bosch, previously Chief Production Officer of the Group subsidiary Bentley. In him, Blume is appointing an experienced restructurer who has put the luxury brand back on track in recent years.

As part of the realignment, software will be linked even more closely with vehicle development, Volkswagen also announced. Cooperation with the Group's brands is to be further developed. In the past, there have sometimes been problems here. In addition, the new CEO is to be supported in future by two proven software experts on the Board of Management. Cariad will implement the personnel changes promptly. Rainer Zugehör will remain in his current role as Chief Human Resources Officer.

The Management Board will be supported by a committee made up of experienced managers from all of the Group's brands, Cariad experts and new external managers. Cariad Supervisory Board member Michael Steiner, who heads research and development at Porsche and the Group, will play a central role on the Transformation Board.

Delays in software development led to the dismissal of Group CEO Herbert Diess last year. At the beginning of September, he was replaced by Porsche boss Blume, who has been managing the listed sports car manufacturer since then. The faltering development had led to delays in important vehicle projects such as the Porsche e-Macan and the Audi Q6 e-tron. Blume equalized the vehicle architectures and thus ensured that calm returned to the Group.

Volkswagen is already working with several technology partners, including the autonomous driving specialist Horizon Robotics, the software company Thundersoft from China and the Israeli robot car expert Mobileye. There is also a connection with US chip manufacturer Qualcomm. According to insiders, the cooperation with Intel subsidiary Mobileye is to be expanded in the near future.

(Report by Jan C. Schwartz, edited by Hans Seidenstücker. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)

- by Jan Schwartz