We recently reported that several EV models from Audi, Porsche, and Bentley could be delayed for years due to VW's software division being behind schedule. Until recently, these were just whispers within the automotive industry, but Porsche's CEO, Oliver Blume, recently confirmed it.
The German branch of Automotive News (Automobilwoche) recently sat down for an interview with Blume, who stated that the market launch for the new Macan EV has been scheduled for 2024. That's roughly a year later than it was expected to arrive.
According to the rumor mill, the physical components are ready for market launch, but the software that runs everything is nowhere near ready. The latter gives us a nice segue to Cariad, VW's software division.
Cariad was charged with developing a suite of autonomous driving systems that would be capable of Level 4 autonomous driving. VW has been quite vocal about beating Tesla in the coming years, and it needs this feature to hit the American brand where it hurts. While Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving continue to make the news for all the wrong reasons, nobody can deny they aren't unique selling points.
The delays at Cariad are an open secret, and there appears to be bad blood between the various departments. "The hardware is great... but the software is still missing," an insider at Porsche told Automobilwoche.
Our earlier report stated that the new Macan EV would run Cariad's 1.2 version of the software instead of the 2.0 version with Level 4 autonomy. It seems this plan has now been ditched, pushing this significant SUV back by a year. While this may not be the desired outcome, it might be the lesser of two evils.
The delays caused by Cariad will likely have a knock-on effect on other upcoming models. Bentley may miss its 2030 EV target, and now that it's selling more than 10,000 vehicles per year, it is no longer exempt from the European Union's 2035 ICE ban.
Audi's Artemis has been pushed back by three years to 2027, and it was meant to be the halo product that would launch a series of models that would eventually replace the entire e-tron range.
