• Opinion
Volkswagen’s latest announcement of a joint venture with California startup Rivian once again exposes VW’s widely known software problems. But this also reflects every incumbent automaker’s software dilemma.
Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen Group, speaks at the China Capital Markets Day 2024 by the Volkswagen Group in Beijing. (Image: Volkswagen)
It’s easy to pick on Volkswagen.
The dizzying array of Volkswagen’s recent partnerships, joint ventures and investments is all over the map – in geography and business focus. Worse, all this churn shows no apparent thread, at least to outsiders like myself, that might help VW to knit the tangle together.
Paired with VW’s frequent reorganizations and management changes in recent years, such deals beg the conclusion that the organization is in disarray, throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks. Maybe things aren’t that bad. Maybe it just looks bad.