Volkswagen to develop its own chips for autonomous vehicles

Volkswagen CEO wants to follow the example of Apple and Tesla.

Volkswagen prepares to design and develop its own high-powered chips for autonomous vehicles, together with the required software, CEO Herbert Diess said.

“To achieve optimal performance in light of the high demands that exist for vehicles, software and hardware have to come out of one hand,” Diess informed Handelsblatt.

The automaker did not plan to build semiconductors but would like to own patents if possible, Diess said, adding that the group’s software unit Cariad would develop the expertise and expand.

The move is a response to Tesla Inc, which can integrate custom-designed chips, enabling the American automaker to develop new features faster than its rivals.

“Apple and Tesla have higher competence in terms of how semiconductors are defined,” Diess said.