Volkswagen Group has announced an extension of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to further develop and deploy the Digital Production Platform (DPP), also known as the "factory cloud," for another five years. The DPP is central to Volkswagen's strategy to modernize and digitalize its global manufacturing operations using artificial intelligence and advanced IT systems.
The DPP, which began as an industrial partner network, now connects order intake, logistics, and manufacturing across Volkswagen’s production chain. This integration supports seamless data flows that are essential for broad AI adoption in production processes. Currently, 43 sites in Europe, North America, and South America are linked through the DPP out of Volkswagen Group’s total 114 production facilities worldwide.
Hauke Stars, Member of the Board of Management for IT at Volkswagen Group, stated: “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.”
The use of AWS infrastructure allows Volkswagen to host critical production systems in the cloud, reducing risks such as production line stoppages. Standardized IT systems deployed via DPP have led to cost savings estimated in the double-digit million range over the medium term. These standards also provide a unified data foundation that enhances technology deployment like AI across different sites.
One example cited by Volkswagen is “Guided Vehicle Completion,” a digital solution used at 13 plants under brands including Audi and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles that helps coordinate complex vehicle assembly processes. Another initiative called 'KI4UPS' uses AI to help assembly line teams identify electronic issues more quickly during software deployment for vehicles, reducing manual workload.
Volkswagen now operates more than 1,200 AI applications across various functions beyond just manufacturing. With AWS services such as Amazon SageMaker, these applications support quality control improvements and cost reductions through industrial computer vision use cases. In sustainability efforts at its Poznań plant in Poland, AI has been implemented to optimize electricity usage; this has resulted in a 12 percent reduction in energy costs along with lower CO₂ emissions.
AI-driven improvements extend into predictive maintenance and real-time image analysis at German sites like Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt—helping ensure accurate component fitting during vehicle assembly while enabling immediate correction of errors.
Christian Vollmer, Member of the Brand Board of Management for Production and Logistics at Volkswagen Group, said: “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.”
Looking ahead, Volkswagen plans for DPP’s ongoing development to support software-defined vehicles (SDVs), where most functionalities will be managed or updated via software during manufacture. This transition will be aided by a joint venture with Rivian Automotive focused on next-generation electronics architecture—a move expected to speed up adaptation cycles within production environments.
Kathrin Renz, Vice President of AWS Industries commented: "Volkswagen Group is setting new standards for smart manufacturing... Together, we're fast-tracking AI solutions that will help unlock new levels of innovation throughout Volkswagen Group’s manufacturing operations."
In future plans, DPP aims not only to cover much larger parts of Volkswagen’s overall production system but also align with broader industry standards such as Catena-X.