Winterkorn: Someday could software expert Volkswagen lead – Heise Newsticker

(Photo: dpa, Julian Stratenschulte)!

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must be in rapid digital transformation invent carmaker at least in many places new,

says the head of the VW Group, Martin Winterkorn. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn sees its industry in the midst of an historic upheaval. “One can certainly speak of a digital revolution in automotive: Alternative drive systems, automated driving, the complete cross-linking of the automobile,” Big Data “, new materials and ever more efficient production,” Winterkorn said in an interview with the German Press Agency before Start the industry fair IAA. For the Group, meant the rapid digital transformation, to question everything. “We are going to invent much new Volkswagen a piece.”

From networked for autonomous car

experienced the self-propelled car an almost miraculous transformation : From a bold idea with which the Nerds dealt to Google, the vision for the advancement of the near future. Not only Google, the auto companies are working under high pressure to bring their automatic vehicles in the track

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With regard to the new competitors such as Google and Apple said the 68-year-old: “I look forward to the athletic competition for the best solution, but I am convinced. Volkswagen maintains its leadership Our Group, with its 11,000 computer scientists and data analysts already own one of the largest IT companies. become the country. ” As an engineer, he saw the technological upheaval in the sector rather than a threat, “but above all as a great opportunity for the automotive industry in Germany”. Volkswagen wants to drive the change with. “Mobility in all its forms will remain our very own domain and passion in the digital age.”

The rapid shift towards networked mobility point everything to the test. Winterkorn did not rule out a VW board posts for the IT and said that such a manager could even lead the technology-heavy VW group in the distant future. “Why not? The described digital revolution in automotive requires changes in thinking and action at all levels. At the top of a company always include the best minds,” Winterkorn said.

In addition, he announced that the will bring first results since the summer of ongoing reconstruction of the VW group soon. “We need a central, strong corporate management from Wolfsburg out as well as the proximity to our customers anywhere in the world,” Winterkorn said.

Highly automated via the motorway: With 120 km / h floats the BMW test car in traffic with, overtaken slower vehicles while allowing others to the driveway threading.

In the slow-starting electric mobility of the head of this country’s largest group urged more help from the policy. “In China, USA or about Norway there is political support for electromobility. Now it takes even here the right conditions to ensure that electromobility can enforce the customer. Instead of piecemeal need for a coherent overall strategy, the policy for the future development of the European car industry . ” For the future of the industry with its hundreds of thousands of jobs in Germany alone electromobility play a very central role, stressed Winterkorn. ( dpa ) / (s)