Volkswagen readies online platform for electric cars
Volkswagen is taking over 49% of the German technology company Diconium. Together they are planning to provide over-the-air updates for the I.D. models after their market launch in 2020.
VW and Diconium first project is to develop a cloud based sales platform, which will enable VW customers to access all future “We” services, as well as on demand services for the networked electric vehicles.
This will include solutions for charging the electric cars. Furthermore, the platform will be expanded to offer further services, such as car-sharing. The company is launching a car-sharing service named We Share in Berlin next year, which will likely see some form of integration in the digital solution. The shuttle services by the subsidiary firm Moia will also be included on the platform in the long term.
So far, Volkswagen has been working on a cloud platform in cooperation with Microsoft. With Diconium as a new technology partner, the next step towards the platform has been made, as well as strengthening their digital portfolio.
Diconium is based in Stuttgart and was founded in 1996. The company specialises on the setup of digital business models, particularly including the development of sales platforms for digital products and services, as well as IT systems for customer management. In their facilities in Germany, Portugal, the USA and India, Diconium employs about 800 people.
Volkswagen’s take over still has to be confirmed by the authorities, but the move suits their current needs quite well. The company recently announced that they would be investing about 44 billion euros in the areas of e-mobility, autonomous driving, mobility services and digitalisation by 2023. How much exactly they will have to pay for the Diconium shares has not been announced so far, but it considered to be a part of the larger overall investment figure.
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