WOLFSBURG (Dow Jones) — Due to software problems in the Volkswagen Group, Audi’s flagship model Artemis has been delayed by three years, contrary to original plans, and will not start until 2027. This is reported by the industry and business newspaper Automobilwoche. At Bentley, the schedule for the conversion to a pure e-brand by 2030 is shaky due to the difficulties at the VW software subsidiary Cariad. There is also a risk of delays with the electric Macan from Porsche and the Audi sister model Q6 e-tron. Both are supposed to start in 2023. Cariad is far behind schedule in development.
Group boss Herbert Diess now pulled the line and presented the plans to the VW supervisory board last Friday. The development of the interim solution 1.2 for Porsche and Audi and the standard software 2.0 for all brands will be separated again. Audi keeps the lead at 1.2, VW takes it over at 2.0. The first use is to take place in 2026 with the prestige model Trinity.
Actually, the software 2.0, which enables autonomous driving up to level 4, should start at Artemis as early as 2024. Now the model will only start after the Trinity, according to corporate circles. In order to keep the original date reasonably close, Audi is planning at least a slimmed-down version with a taller body shape for 2025, but without the announced “killer applications” for autonomous driving. Instead of 2.0, a further development of the intermediate variant 1.2 is to be installed. But this is also far behind schedule. Actually, 1.2 should already be completed in 2021. Now it must finally be finished, it was said unanimously in Stuttgart and Ingolstadt. After all, the pre-series of the Q6 e-tron is scheduled to start in Ingolstadt at the end of the year, and series production will then start in September 2023. “We need the software for that now,” said a manager.
At Porsche in Leipzig, the pre-series of the electric Macan is already running. “The hardware is great,” said a Porsche man. “But the software is still missing.”
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 10, 2022 04:04 ET (08:04 GMT)
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