Volkswagen’s head of technical development Kai Grünitz is convinced that the brand’s strongest response to Chinese automakers isn’t software, but a seat-of-the-pants feel—the ability to sense a car with the body rather than through simulations. He maintains that even the most advanced engineers cannot program the human feel of a car.

Since 2022, Grünitz has led the development of a new wave of VW electric models—from the ID.Polo to the ID Cross—while also collaborating with U.S. startup Rivian on a new software architecture. Even so, he stresses that real cars are born on the road, not on a computer screen. The message comes through plainly: code should serve the driving experience, not define it.

While working on the ID.Polo, Grünitz for the first time oversaw a project from the first sketches all the way to production. The car, he noted, was built for customers rather than the boardroom, shaped by feedback and real expectations. The lineup will even include an ID.Polo GTI—the first front-wheel-drive electric sports car from VW—promising the go-kart-like character that has long been part of the GTI signature.

In his view, only a mix of technology, accumulated know-how, and that elusive connection with the machine will give Volkswagen an advantage in the new era of electric cars. In practice, that balance is often what separates a memorable driver’s car from a merely competent one.

Grünitz summed up the approach by saying that cars are more than software, that they are living machines, and that his team knows how to make them feel genuinely alive from behind the wheel.