Volkswagen Archives - Kai Waehner

Data Streaming in Automotive Industry with Apache Kafka and Flink for Connected Vehicles Cars using Shift Left Architecture Telemetry Signal Processing

2.1K views
9 minute read

Shift Left in Automotive: Real-Time Intelligence from Vehicle Telemetry with Data Streaming at Rivian

ByKai Waehner
16. January 2026

Rivian and Volkswagen, through their joint venture RV Tech, process high-frequency telemetry from connected vehicles using Apache Kafka and Apache Flink. With a shift left architecture and smart filtering, they reduced data volume by 88 percent and enabled over 250 downstream consumer applications to access curated data products. This blog explores how RV Tech transforms raw vehicle data into real-time intelligence, supporting use cases across engineering, operations, and customer experience.

Automotive Innovation with Data Streaming using Apache Kafka Flink Confluent at CARIAD Volkswagen Group VW

6.4K views
6 minute read

CARIAD’s Unified Data Platform: A Data Streaming Automotive Success Story Behind Volkswagen’s Software-Defined Vehicles

ByKai Waehner
24. November 2025

The automotive industry transforms rapidly. Cars are now software-defined vehicles (SDVs) that demand constant, real-time data flow. This post highlights the CARIAD success story inside the Volkswagen Group. CARIAD tackled data fragmentation. It built the Unified Data Ecosystem (UDE). Learn how Confluent’s data streaming platform, powered by Apache Kafka and Flink, serves as the central nervous system. This platform connects millions of vehicles and cloud services globally. The event-driven architecture helps CARIAD achieve faster development, meet compliance (like the EU Data Act), and reduce costs. The platform unlocks high-value use cases, such as predictive maintenance and AI-powered fleet management.