NAV: US Alliance for Autonomous Driving

The group has formulated several objectives, including the promotion of the development of new specifications. Additionally, it aims to create a common foundation for new technologies and, if possible, establish a standard. As with the natural gas consortium in Europe, the group remains explicitly open to further members, and the number of new alliance members is expected to continue to rise in the near future. In contrast to other cooperations, NAV does not focus on the development of shared technologies to reduce costs but instead prioritizes the development of a consensus that would pave the way for common network languages for all automakers and suppliers. An indication of this is the fact that companies typically considered competitors, Bosch and Conti, are both participating here.

Johann Jungwirth, Chief Digital Officer at Volkswagen Group, who, according to early rumors, is expected to return to Silicon Valley, is also considered more of an integrative and solution-oriented developer, rather than a competitive one. He aims to develop autonomous driving to series production readiness there and is likely to welcome the formation of the alliance.

What does that mean?

Autonomous driving remains complex – extremely complex. Accordingly, multiple forces need to come together to push it forward on a broader scale. In the background, there is, of course, the intent to consolidate the market power of the participants to set standards that others might eventually have to follow.