Volkswagen Scraps €1.5 Billion Bosch Alliance, Deepening Its Auto Tech Crisis
Published on 06/29/2026 at 06:22 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Just days after Cariad, Volkswagen's software arm, cut the ribbon on a gleaming new artificial-intelligence campus in Berlin, the carmaker has quietly scrapped the €1.5 billion autonomous-driving pact with Bosch that was supposed to make its software competitive. The move lays bare a stark strategic contradiction and piles fresh pressure on a stock already clinging to its 52-week low.
The "Automated Driving Alliance" was launched in early 2022 to help Cariad develop hands-free Level-2++ automated driving. But according to reports that have now been confirmed internally, the technology that emerged from the partnership is considered no longer competitive — especially against rivals from China and the United States. The €1.5 billion investment has effectively been written off. Volkswagen is now hunting for new hardware and software partners, with a target to line up replacements by the end of September.
The news lands at a time of extreme stress for Europe's largest automaker. First-quarter 2026 net profit plunged roughly 30% to €1.56 billion, and the company is pushing through one of the most brutal restructurings in its history. Plans include slashing up to 100,000 jobs and potentially shuttering four German plants: Hannover, Zwickau, Emden and Neckarsulm. Lower Saxony's premier, Olaf Lies, has suggested filling those factories with models developed in China — an acknowledgment of how far the group has fallen behind in its home market.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Volkswagen?
Investors are bracing for concrete decisions at the July 9 supervisory board meeting, where both plant closures and a successor for Bosch are expected to be on the agenda. Without a clear replacement for the automated-driving partnership, Volkswagen's technological gap will only widen.
The stock's performance tells the story in brutal shorthand. The preference shares closed Friday at €74.40 — a mere 0.38% above the 52-week low of €74.12 hit on June 26. Year-to-date, the equity has shed nearly 30%. The relative strength index stands at 23.3, deep in oversold territory, and the share price is more than 21% below its 200-day moving average of €94.74. On a monthly basis, the decline amounts to roughly 19%.
Against this backdrop, the timing of Cariad's new Automotive Software Campus in Berlin — inaugurated on June 23 with 1,000 engineers working on everything from environment perception to voice assistants — looks almost ironic. A public display of software ambition at the very moment the group's most expensive external software partnership implodes. Volkswagen originally aimed to have the Bosch-developed software stack ready for series production by mid-2026. That timeline is now dead.
Until management formally confirms the alliance exit and presents a credible new road map, the uncertainty will continue to weigh on the stock. If the share price breaks below the 52-week floor of €74.12, further technical selling could accelerate the slide.
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