The development of a Group-wide platform and digital services for the "Volkswagen We" ecosystem is being accelerated. The Group plans to invest 3.5 billion euros in digitization by 2025, making the car the central hub on the Internet of Things.
“We have a clear vision: we will continue to build vastly superior vehicles. But going forward, our Volkswagens will increasingly become digital devices on wheels”, Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, said today at a press conference in the Group Representative Office in Berlin. “Our customers will become part of an ecosystem that we have named ‘We’. This system complements the Volkswagen experience on wheels and enables customer to take their world into their vehicle”, Stackmann commented, adding that the brand hoped open interfaces would also encourage third parties to participate in creating a strong community by contributing their own software.
Volkswagen already offers its customers the following applications: "WePark", the parking app with integrated billing, "WeDeliver", parcel delivery to the trunk, and "WeExperience", personalised offers and recommendations near the car park. Volkswagen is now expanding its portfolio with "WeShare" and entering car sharing.
The offer starts in Berlin in 2019 and includes 2000 electric cars from Volkswagen (e-Golf & e-up!). From 2020, the fleet will gradually be converted to models of the I.D. electric family. Following its launch in Berlin, "WeShare" will make its debut in other major German cities, and is planned to enter European core markets and selected cities in North America from 2020.