Volkswagen has serious software problems with its electric cars, and depends on a Chinese partner from them.

It’s no secret that the Volkswagen group is facing some problems in the development of its software segment. About two years ago, the group made a change by announcing that it was manufacturing this part in China, and today, the German manufacturer and XPeng formalized the cooperation at this level.

Remember, when the Volkswagen ID.3 was launched in 2019, Criticism was leveled against him regarding the program section, clearly not the same and, above all, far from finished. Unfortunately, the problems spread to other models in the group, and it took several months, if not more than a year, for the problems to be resolved.

And when Volkswagen began to see the end of the tunnel with its identity. 3, it was for other later models that prevented it. Indeed, a new generation of high-performance electric cars is being developed under the leadership of Audi and Porsche, two products of the German group members, a new generation introduced by the Audi Q6 e-tron and the Porsche Macan. Except that their pregnancy was not complicated. Their launch was also delayed at that time due to these popular software problems.

Volkswagen is starting to catch up

But in 2022, Volkswagen turned to China for “increasing its digital offerings and applications“. The German group has therefore planned a large investment in China to recruit “several thousands» of software engineers and thus trying to catch up with its rivals, at least in the Chinese market initially.

And today we have a new iteration since the Chinese manufacturer XPeng and Volkswagen have just announced collaboration on electrical/electronic architecture (E/E Architecture) as announced in Press release.

But what is it really about? This architecture is developed in-house by XPeng and is central to its vertically integrated software and hardware technology. It allows software, including that which controls ADAS and the connected OS, to be separated from the underlying hardware, allowing the vehicle’s electronic functions to work faster.

Not before 2026, and not in Europe immediately

The E/E architecture supports OTA (Over-The-Air) software updates and is also integrated to collect ADAS-related driving data on a host computer type. Data that will be analyzed and used to improve the operating systems of tomorrow.

This design will equip the new electric Volkswagens produced in China from 2026. It may also arrive in Europe with future electric cars from the group’s brands, even if the official news has not yet announced.