Volkswagen Centralises Driver Assistance Development Under Audi's Leadership
Volkswagen is reorganising how it develops driver assistance and automated driving in Europe. A new unit called OneTeam, combining specialists from software subsidiary Cariad and the group's brands, will start work in November 2026 under the leadership of Audi, according to reports by dpa and Automobilwoche cited by electrive.
Key takeaways
- The OneTeam unit brings together driver assistance (ADAS) specialists from Cariad and the VW Group brands.
- It starts in November 2026 and is led by Manuel Birke, who reports to Audi's development chief Rouven Mohr.
- Audi becomes responsible for ADAS development for the whole group.
- The goal is faster development and one technology platform for all brands.
Who is in charge
Manuel Birke is currently head of driver assistance technology at Cariad, which he joined in July 2025 as chief technology officer for its in-house ADAS stack, after leading software platform development at Cruise in San Francisco. In OneTeam he will report to Rouven Mohr, Audi's board member for technical development.
"We are creating clear accountability through the leadership of the lead brand Audi," group development chief Werner Tietz wrote in an intranet message quoted by Automobilwoche.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| New unit | OneTeam (ADAS and automated driving, Europe) |
| Start | November 2026 |
| Lead brand | Audi |
| Head | Manuel Birke (Cariad) |
| Reports to | Rouven Mohr, Audi technical development |
| Aim | Faster development, one group-wide platform |
Why VW is doing it
Cariad was founded to develop software for the whole group and reduce reliance on outside suppliers, but software problems delayed important models, including the Audi Q6 e-tron. The move is also seen as easing tensions between Audi and Cariad; Audi chief executive Gernot Dollner has been described as a critic of the software unit.
Cariad's partnership with Bosch on automated driving ended early, in July 2026. The two companies had developed a driver assistance stack up to SAE Level 2+, planned for the ID. Every1 small electric car. Cariad is cutting about 1,000 jobs in Germany. Higher levels of automation, up to SAE Level 4, still need more work, and Der Spiegel reports that VW has chosen to work with the British start-up Wayve, although a final contract had not been confirmed.
Nvidia and the ID. Buzz AD
At the Nvidia GTC event in Berlin on 21 and 22 October 2026, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles showed the autonomous ID. Buzz AD based on Nvidia's Hyperion platform, which combines computing hardware with a standard sensor set. VW, Porsche and Cariad are also building a data platform with Nvidia, Microsoft Azure and Voxel51 that uses real-world driving data to train and validate automated driving systems.
For drivers, the reorganisation should eventually mean the same assistance systems across Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat, Cupra and Porsche. Explore the current models in our Audi and Volkswagen catalogues.
Sources
- electrive: VW 'centralising' ADAS development under Audi's leadership (accessed 26 Oct 2026)
- Cariad: ADAS expert Manuel Birke joins Cariad (accessed 26 Oct 2026)
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