Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) outlined plans to invest up to 1 billion euros (roughly $1.17 billion) in artificial intelligence by 2030, saying the technology will be central to accelerating vehicle development and strengthening industrial operations.
The commitment, announced Sept. 9 at the IAA Mobility trade fair, also includes expanding high-performance IT systems as part of the group's long-term digital strategy.
The group highlighted more than 1,200 AI applications are already in use, with hundreds more under development. By 2035, Volkswagen expects efficiency gains and cost avoidance of up to 4 billion euros from scalable AI deployment across the value chain.
Also Read: Volkswagen Expands XPeng Partnership To Speed Software Upgrades Across All Car Types
Volkswagen said its partnership with Dassault Systèmes is building an AI-powered engineering environment across all brands and regions to support virtual testing and simulations. According to the company, the initiative is designed to cut vehicle development cycles to as little as 36 months and about 25% faster than today.
The company said its Digital Production Platform now connects more than 40 sites and is being upgraded with AI tools to optimize assembly processes, improve energy and material efficiency, reduce costs, and lower emissions. Volkswagen added that AI is also being applied to strengthen cybersecurity and knowledge sharing across operations.
According to the company, workforce readiness is another key pillar. Through its WE & AI initiative launched in 2024, more than 130 thousand employees have already received training, making it one of Volkswagen's largest education and qualification programs.
Volkswagen said collaboration with industry peers is also expanding. The company is exploring a Large Industry Model, an industrial AI trained on real design, manufacturing, and process data from participating firms. It said the effort, modelled on the Catena-X data-sharing platform, is intended to streamline logistics and workflows across sectors.
The company added that supportive regulatory and funding frameworks in Europe will be critical to sustaining AI adoption. Volkswagen also said it is expanding its private cloud infrastructure to keep sensitive data stored and processed within Europe, a move aimed at bolstering digital sovereignty and resilience.
Price Action: VWAGY shares are trading lower by 1.23% to $12.04 at last check Wednesday.
Read Next:
Photo by RYO Alexandre via Shutterstock
