€7.5B wasted. 6,000 employees. Zero completed platforms.
This is the shocking balance sheet of VW's Cariad software disaster.
While Tesla ships 40+ OTA updates yearly with ~300 engineers, Cariad burned billions only to finally abandon their core software architecture.
The numbers tell a devastating story:
→ 36+ months of development with no complete platform delivery
→ 3 CEOs in 3 years desperately restructuring
→ Billions spent with minimal output relative to investment
→ Key development targets consistently missed
Vehicle launches crippled:
→ ID.3/ID.4: Shipped with incomplete software
→ Porsche Macan EV: Delayed 12+ months, costing ~€1.8B
→ Audi Q8 e-tron: Features cut by ~40%
→ "Trinity" project: Postponed from 2025 to 2028-2032
When I consulted with automotive OEMs, I witnessed firsthand what's killing potential:
1. Massive Bureaucratic Overhead
→ +60% Engineering time wasted on compliance documentation
→ Process managers outnumbering lead developers
→ ASPICE requirements prioritized over shipping features
→ Decision loops requiring multiple approvals across departments
2. Software-Industrial Culture Clash
→ Traditional auto KPIs applied to software innovation
→ Weekly reporting cycles forcing short-term decisions
→ High percentage of engineers citing "process paralysis" as exit reason
→ Tech talent departing for Tesla, Chinese OEMs, and startups
3. Infrastructure Without Strategy
→ "E3 1.2" platform completely scrapped after 2+ years of development
→ Parallel development of competing architectures
→ Consultant headcount exceeding in-house expertise
→ Massive investment in tooling ultimately abandoned
The 2024 VW-Rivian $5B partnership finalized what insiders knew for years:
Cariad had failed to deliver independently.
This isn't just VW's problem.
Every automotive company claiming to be "software-first" while maintaining bureaucratic processes is heading toward the same cliff.
The stark contrast:
→ Tesla: Highly efficient code-to-engineer ratio
→ Xpeng: Rapid feature development cycles
→ VW/Cariad: Significantly lower development efficien
Zdroj:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7318727813820284929/