Volkswagen Backs AI to Speed Car Development by 2030
Volkswagen Group plans to invest up to €1 billion in artificial intelligence by 2030 as part of its existing investment plan, announced at the IAA Mobility trade fair. The Group will prioritise AI-supported vehicle development, industrial applications, and high-performance IT infrastructure, enabling customers to receive new vehicles and innovations more quickly. By applying automotive AI at scale, Volkswagen anticipates achieving sustainable efficiency gains and a stronger, more resilient position in the global technology competition.
"With artificial intelligence, we are igniting the next stage on our path to becoming the global automotive tech driver", says Hauke Stars, Member of the Board of Management for IT at the Volkswagen Group. "AI is our key to greater speed, quality, and competitiveness – across the entire value chain, from vehicle development to production. Our ambition is to accelerate our development of attractive, innovative vehicles and bring them to our customers faster than ever before. To achieve this, we deploy AI with purpose: scalable, responsible, and with clear industrial benefits. Our ambition: No process without AI.”
The Group already uses artificial intelligence across all major business domains. More than 1,200 AI applications are currently in use, with several hundred more in development or nearing implementation. Over the long term, Volkswagen anticipates efficiency gains and cost avoidance of up to €4 billion by 2035, facilitated by the consistent and scalable application of AI across the entire automotive value chain.
In vehicle development, Volkswagen is building an AI-powered engineering environment with partner Dassault Systèmes for all Group brands and regions. The environment supports engineers with virtual testing and component simulations, which accelerates development. Alongside other initiatives, the collaboration aims to help shorten the product development cycle to 36 months or less, making it at least 25 per cent (around 12 months) faster than today.
Production also advances through AI integration. Leveraging the Group’s proprietary Digital Production Platform (DPP), a factory cloud that now connects more than 40 sites, Volkswagen continuously introduces new AI applications into manufacturing. These applications optimise complex interactions in vehicle assembly, improve energy and material efficiency, reduce costs, and lower CO₂ emissions.
AI-powered tools also enhance cybersecurity and foster knowledge sharing across the Group, supporting digital transformation and long-term viability.
Through the WE & AI initiative launched in spring 2024, Volkswagen introduced one of the most comprehensive internal education and qualification programmes in the sector. The ongoing programme empowers employees at every level to use AI responsibly and practically, and has already reached more than 130,000 people worldwide.
To accelerate industrial AI, Volkswagen is deepening collaboration with European technology and industry partners. The company is exploring a Large Industry Model (LIM), an industrial AI model trained on real-world manufacturing, design, and process data from participating companies that voluntarily share their data.
Collective process knowledge could train an AI model that optimises internal workflows and enables more efficient logistics and process control across industries. As an organisational blueprint, Catena-X, the first open platform for the automotive sector and beyond, enables secure data exchange between manufacturers, suppliers, and technology providers. Founding members include Volkswagen, BMW, BASF, Mercedes-Benz, SAP, Siemens, ZF, and T-Systems.
Volkswagen also works to shape innovation-friendly frameworks for AI in Europe and supports enabling policies at the national and EU levels. In a challenging environment marked by high energy prices, elevated location costs, and administrative complexity, the company sees a clear need for political support to advance artificial intelligence in Germany and Europe.
Hauke Stars: “We support the innovation-friendly evolution of European regulation. In addition, targeted incentives are needed; we must maximise our capabilities. This includes, above all, funding programs that strengthen spin-offs from universities and research institutions and accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into market-ready applications.”
Digital sovereignty starts with control over data. That requires storing, processing, and protecting data within the European Union. Against this backdrop, Volkswagen has sharpened its strategy. The Group will significantly expand its private cloud infrastructure in the coming years to process more sensitive information internally, strengthening digital resilience against external risks and influences.