Volkswagen is reportedly killing its EUR 1.5 billion self-driving dream
A billion and a half euros, a thousand engineers, and reportedly nothing to show for it
Volkswagen's troubles keep piling up. According to a Bild report, the German giant is preparing to pull the plug on ADA, its costly joint autonomous-driving project with Bosch, after concluding the software simply is not good enough to take on Tesla and the fast-moving Chinese. It is, for now, an unconfirmed report, but if true it would be a striking admission of defeat in one of the industry's most important races.
What ADA was meant to be
The Automated Driving Alliance, or ADA, launched in 2022 as a joint effort between Volkswagen and supplier Bosch to build an advanced driver-assistance system, much like Tesla's Full Self-Driving. The plan was ambitious: roll the software out across as many Volkswagen vehicles as possible and finally give the group a credible answer to Tesla and the surging Chinese brands. More than 1,000 developers were put on the project, and by now around 1.5 billion euro has reportedly been spent.
Why VW is said to be walking away
The blunt conclusion, according to insiders, is that the software is not competitive enough. Volkswagen reportedly acknowledges it is trailing the international field, with Tesla and Mercedes already running better systems and Chinese partners making progress far faster. Frustration with the slow pace of the Bosch collaboration is said to be a key factor. Crucially, this would not mean VW abandoning driver-assistance entirely: the plan is reportedly to end the Bosch partnership and develop the software with a different partner, with a decision on who expected in the autumn.
A cost cut as much as a tech call
The timing is no accident. The reported decision lands squarely within CEO Oliver Blume's sweeping restructuring, and industry watchers see it as a savings measure as much as a strategic one. Only last week it emerged that Volkswagen wants to double its planned job cuts from 50,000 to 100,000, a figure that will be fiercely contested with the unions. Against that backdrop, axing an expensive project that has delivered little and offers no clear competitive edge is an obvious target. For now, though, both Volkswagen and Bosch have stayed silent, so this remains insider information rather than official confirmation.
AutoNext Take
If this report is accurate, it is a brutal but probably honest call. Spending 1.5 billion euro to end up behind Tesla, Mercedes and the Chinese is exactly the kind of expensive half-measure Volkswagen can no longer afford while it is also trying to shed tens of thousands of jobs. Walking away from a partner rather than the technology itself is the sensible part, because giving up on driver assistance altogether would be suicidal in 2026. The worry is what 1.5 billion euro and four years of lost time say about how hard the legacy giants are finding the software era. Until VW and Bosch speak, though, treat it as a strong rumour, not gospel.
This fits a grim wider picture: Volkswagen is reportedly weighing up to 100,000 job cuts, and sister brand Porsche has launched its own cost-cutting package. Meanwhile the Chinese keep raising the bar, as the driverless Xiaomi YU7 GT's Nurburgring record shows.
