Even Porsche Is Giving Up On Volkswagen’s Awful Infotainment Software

Photo: Porsche

Porsche has announced its vehicle will feature native Google software going forward, the Verge reported. While new Porsche owners will be able to use a wide variety of apps from the Google Play Store at some point in the future, it hasn’t been good news for everyone: Volkswagen has stated that it will cut 2,000 jobs at Cariad, its bug-prone in-house software developer.

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Porsche, which is owned by VW, previously partnered with Cariad but decided to explore other options for an infotainment software provider last year. The German sports car manufacturer was in talks with tech giants, including Alibaba, Apple, Baidu and Tencent. Google was the leading candidate for the deal but there were reportedly concerns about the amount of data Porsche would have to hand over.

Porsche’s move has it joining the likes of GM, Ford and Honda in either featuring Android Auto or just having Google software built into its model. New Porsche vehicles will be equipped with the software within the next few years, but the automaker hasn’t specified which models will be first.

Cariad has continued to struggle since the split. The developer reported nearly a $425 million loss for this year’s first quarter. Cariad’s recently launched app store has also allowed owners to download third-party software instead of being reliant on the flawed built-in tech.

Volkswagen will now restructure Cariad and cut 2,000 jobs over the next two years, according to Reuters. The restructuring will also delay the introduction of Cariad’s new software architecture. It’s not clear when or if VW’s in-house provider will ever match the third-party offerings on the market.