CARIAD acquires the Mobility Services Platform business unit of Hexad

• With the planned acquisition, CARIAD strengthens its expertise in the development of cloud services
• CARIAD CEO Dirk Hilgenberg: "CARIAD is developing a digital ecosystem around the car that integrates the digital world of Volkswagen Group customers into the vehicle.”
• CARIAD CFO Thomas Sedran: "We want to develop in-house central technologies that directly influence the customer experience. These include cloud services for customers of the Group brands."

Wolfsburg | February 17, 2023 – CARIAD plans to acquire the Mobility Services Platform business unit of Hexad GmbH. With this the software company of the Volkswagen Group will gain new competencies in the development of cloud services. These services are part of the digital ecosystem around the car that CARIAD is building for all Group brands. Closing for the transaction is expected in the summer of 2023 and remains subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

The Volkswagen Group has worked with Hexad over many years. The portfolio of services developed by Hexad includes initial vehicle registration by the customer, and the log-in and control of vehicle functions in the brands' smartphone apps. It also includes the Predictive Maintenance service that analyzes AI-based vehicle data and advises customers to approach their workshop to prevent any vehicular damage well ahead of time.

Such cloud and back-end services are essential to the digital ecosystem that CARIAD is creating for all Group brands: "CARIAD is developing a digital automotive ecosystem that integrates the digital world of Volkswagen Group customers into the vehicle. This way, we are enabling the Group brands to maintain direct contact with their customers even post-sale and to offer them personalized mobility services. This way, they can create a continuous customer journey across all contact points," says CARIAD CEO Dirk Hilgenberg.

The acquisition is a significant step in CARIAD's growth strategy: "We want to develop in-house central technologies that directly influence the automotive customer experience. This includes cloud services in the car. By acquiring Hexad's Mobility Services Platform business unit, we are strengthening our competencies in this area," explains Thomas Sedran, CFO of CARIAD.

As a result of the acquisition, more than 75 software developers from Hexad GmbH will join the CARIAD team and support with backend services for a digital ecosystem. They already work, as a close supplier,  on more than ten backend services that are used throughout the Group. Hexad has been a longstanding partner in the development of Mobile Online Services. The company developed the relevant know-how in the Mobility Services Platform business unit over many years of project work and has formed a team that is familiar with CARIAD's expectations and processes, and whose expertise is well-known to CARIAD through their close cooperation. 

About CARIAD

CARIAD is an independent automotive software company in the Volkswagen Group that is consolidating and further expanding the Group's software competencies. The company is developing the leading technology stack for the automotive industry with the mission to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable and more comfortable for people. Established in 2020 under the name Car.Software Organization, CARIAD now has more than 6,500 experts worldwide working on a scalable technology stack for all Volkswagen Group brands, comprising a software platform, a unified architecture and a reliable connection to the automotive cloud. The company is also developing digital functions for the vehicle, including driver assistance systems, a standardized infotainment platform, software functions for linking powertrains, chassis and charging technology, as well as the new digital ecosystem and digital services in and around the vehicle. CARIAD has software competence centers in Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt, the Stuttgart region, Berlin and Munich, and has subsidiaries in China and the USA. For more information, visit https://cariad.technology.

About Hexad GmbH

Hexad is a leading software technology company that develops modern applications that meet the highest standards of design, functionality and user experience. With offices in Wolfsburg, Langen (Hesse) and Berlin as well as international locations in Bangalore, India and Barcelona, Spain, the company is globally positioned. As a long-standing strategic software development partner of Volkswagen AG, Hexad combines state-of-the-art development methods and state-of-the-art technologies with highly qualified employees who work in self-organized teams to develop disruptive innovations and thereby make a significant contribution to the Group's digitalization strategy. Effective management structures, flexible working methods and a culture of innovation lived by all employees form the Hexad DNA and enable the development of AI-supported cloud software solutions from planning to sustainable operation in DevOps mode.

Further information about Hexad GmbH at https://hexad.de