The Volkswagen Group is accelerating its transformation toward AI-powered automotive manufacturing by extending its partnership with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) for another five years. Together, the companies will continue developing the Digital Production Platform (DPP), Volkswagen’s global “factory cloud” that integrates AI and advanced IT systems across production sites worldwide.
The DPP is designed to make vehicle manufacturing more flexible, cost-efficient, and scalable, while enabling faster time-to-market for new models.
Building the Digital Backbone of Automotive Manufacturing
Launched as an industrial partner network, the DPP has evolved into Volkswagen’s central digital hub, seamlessly connecting order intake, logistics, and production across its value chain. By ensuring smooth, end-to-end data flows, the platform establishes the foundation for widespread AI adoption—a strategic priority for Volkswagen.
Today, 43 Volkswagen Group sites across Europe and the Americas are already linked to the DPP. In total, the Group operates 114 factories globally, with more scheduled to join in the coming years.
“Our ambition is to become the global automotive tech driver. To achieve this, we are consistently digitalizing and connecting all areas of our company. Our goal is to bring products and technologies to our customers even faster. The Digital Production Platform plays a key role in this: it is the digital nervous system of our factories – and the key to a future of AI-powered production,” said Hauke Stars, Member of the Board of Management for IT at the Volkswagen Group.
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Driving Efficiency and Cost Savings
With the DPP, Volkswagen can roll out standardized IT solutions across all connected plants, reducing complexity and enabling uniform best practices in production and logistics.
One example, “Guided Vehicle Completion,” already deployed at 13 sites across Volkswagen, Audi, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, streamlines complex assembly coordination, improving accuracy and efficiency.
The scalability of AWS ensures these critical applications run reliably in the cloud, helping to minimize production risks and cut IT costs. By unifying data and processes, Volkswagen expects savings in the double-digit millions in the medium term while creating a shared foundation for deploying AI solutions at scale.
For instance, with ‘KI4UPS’, AI supports assembly line teams in software deployment by detecting electronic issues earlier, significantly reducing manual effort.
AI Applications Across the Enterprise
Volkswagen now operates more than 1,200 AI-driven applications, extending far beyond manufacturing. Using AWS technologies such as Amazon SageMaker, the company trains machine learning models and develops computer vision use cases that strengthen quality assurance, cost efficiency, and sustainability.
At the Poznań plant in Poland, AI is applied to optimize electricity usage, resulting in a 12% reduction in energy costs and lower CO₂ emissions.
Smarter and More Resilient Production
The DPP also powers predictive maintenance, real-time quality control, and remote monitoring, improving manufacturing resilience. At facilities such as Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt, AI-enabled image recognition ensures each part is accurately installed, reducing production errors and boosting consistency.
Additionally, with data continuously available across the value chain, Volkswagen can adapt production more quickly to supply chain disruptions while strengthening cybersecurity and digital resilience.
“Our high-performance vehicle production is a key driver of success for the Volkswagen Group and its brands. By more closely integrating development and manufacturing through a shared, AI-capable data structure, we are creating the conditions to bring our vehicles to customers even faster,” said Christian Vollmer, Member of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen for Production and Logistics and Member of the Extended Group Executive Committee.
“Volkswagen Group is setting new standards for smart manufacturing,” said Kathrin Renz, Vice President of AWS Industries. “Our five-year extended collaboration combines AWS’s cloud infrastructure and purpose-built IoT and machine learning services with Volkswagen’s manufacturing expertise. Together, we’re fast-tracking AI solutions that will help unlock new levels of innovation throughout Volkswagen Group’s manufacturing operations.”