On August 4, ST announced that CARIAD, a software company of the German Volkswagen Group, and STMicroelectronics (ST) will soon start working together on the development of automotive system-on-chips (SoCs), creating a new model of software-defined vehicle co-development, according to a press release from ST. The goal is to provide processor chips for a new generation of vehicles based on the Volkswagen Group’s unified and scalable software platform. At the same time, the two companies agreed to have TSMC, a global semiconductor foundry, manufacture SoC wafers for STMicroelectronics. Through this initiative, CARIAD aims to give the Volkswagen Group a lock on automotive chip supply several years in advance.
According to the report, CARIAD will for the first time establish a direct relationship with the Volkswagen Group’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 semiconductor suppliers. In the future, CARIAD will designate the CARIAD zone architecture of the Group’s Tier 1 suppliers to use only the system-on-a-chip and ST’s Stellar standard MCUs developed in cooperation with STMicroelectronics.
Murat Aksel, member of the Volkswagen Group Management Board, said: “We are creating a new cooperation model for the Volkswagen Group. By establishing a direct partnership with ST and TSMC, we are actively shaping the company’s entire semiconductor supply chain. This will ensure that our suppliers are actually producing the chips we need and guarantee the security of supply of critical chips for years to come. In this way, we are setting a new standard for strategic supply chain management.
It’s worth noting that in early July, Reuters reported that Dirk Hilgenberg, head of Volkswagen’s software division Cariad, told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday that the division would be streamlined to accelerate the pace of software development. behind schedule, with the launch of Porsche and Audi models delayed.
In fact, in addition to working with STMicroelectronics, CARIAD is also working with Qualcomm, having previously planned to select Qualcomm Technologies to provide system-on-chip (SoC) for CARIAD’s software platform designed to enable assisted driving and autonomous driving capabilities up to L4 level. CARIAD will use the Snapdragon Ride platform portfolio SoC to optimally meet the needs of the software developed by CARIAD to support Volkswagen Group models from around 2025 onwards.
