By ATN Editorial Team
Summary: Volkswagen Group China has signed a deepened technology agreement with Horizon Robotics that gives CARIZON, the Group’s intelligent driving powerhouse in China, white-box access to Horizon’s AI foundation model. The agreement is aimed at accelerating L3 automated driving and, beyond it, L4 capability for both passenger cars and robotaxi applications.
Key engineering takeaway: White-box access means working with the internals of a model rather than using it as a black box, and Volkswagen says it enables CARIZON to further develop its own unified AI driving model, a single system handling the full task end-to-end, from raw sensor input to on-road decisions. The AI-enabled automated driving stack will be closely integrated with the China Electronic Architecture (CEA), Volkswagen Group’s first locally developed zonal E/E architecture. L3 automated driving deliveries are targeted for the second half of 2027.
Why it matters: Volkswagen says the AI foundation model, together with CARIZON’s C7H SoC and the GAIA World Model data platform, will form an in-house technology stack designed to meet the safety and quality standards toward L3 readiness and future L4 capability. The same stack is intended to keep improving the L2++ solutions already delivered on current models. The company also states the stack is portable across platforms into markets in the Global South.
- Volkswagen Group China is accelerating the in-house development of L3 and L4 automated driving technologies by deepening its strategic collaboration with Horizon Robotics through CARIZON, the Group’s intelligent driving powerhouse in China.
- CARIZON gains white-box access to Horizon’s AI foundation model, a core technology to develop safe and advanced automated driving, enabling Volkswagen to faster build its own unified AI driving solutions.
- Deliveries of L3 capabilities are targeted to start already by the second half of next year.
- At the same time, CARIZON’s L2++ ADAS solution has entered series production and remains on track to be on the roads in the third quarter of 2026. It will be rolled out across seven all-new New Energy Vehicle (NEV) models from Volkswagen Group China spanning all joint ventures in this year, before expanding to the broader portfolio starting next year.
Volkswagen Group China is taking an important step in strengthening its local automated driving capabilities as part of its “in China, for China” strategy. CARIZON, the Group’s intelligent driving powerhouse in China, and Horizon Robotics signed an agreement to deepen their technology collaboration on AI foundation model capabilities. The new agreement enables Volkswagen’s CARIZON to fully draw on Horizon Robotics’ advanced AI foundation model capabilities to further develop its own unified AI driving model, a single AI system trained to handle the entire driving task end-to-end, from raw sensor input through complex decisions on the road. With this, Volkswagen Group’s own automated driving system will better understand complex traffic situations, anticipate the behaviour of other road users, and respond more effectively to rare scenarios. The result is a safer and more reliable advanced automated driving experience.
Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen Group: “China has become one of Volkswagen Group’s key innovation and technology hubs, particularly in software, artificial intelligence and automated driving. Our deepened collaboration within CARIZON further strengthens our ability to develop and scale AI-based solutions for automated driving. By combining leading AI capabilities with our engineering expertise, we are creating technologies that delight our customers, reinforce our competitiveness in China, and open up new opportunities in selected international markets.”
Ralf Brandstätter, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG for China and Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China: “With our own L2++ ADAS solution already in series production, we have demonstrated our ability to deliver and the strength of our in-house capabilities. Based on this we will offer our Chinese customers one of the most advanced systems on the market, with particular strengths in safety and human-like driving behavior. Building on one of the most advanced AI models for automated driving on the market now sharpens our tech edge. It enables us to advance our own L3 and L4 solutions faster, safely and at scale.”
Building The Stack Behind L3 Automated Driving
Together with CARIZON’s proprietary System-on-Chip (SoC) C7H, and the GAIA World Model data platform, the new AI foundation model will form a robust, in-house technology stack. It is designed to meet the rigorous safety and quality standards toward L3 readiness and future L4 automated driving capabilities for both passenger cars and robotaxi applications, while continuously improving the already delivered L2++ solutions on current models.
The AI-enabled automated driving stack will be closely integrated with the China Electronic Architecture (CEA), Volkswagen Group’s first locally developed zonal E/E architecture. With the Group’s platform advantage, these capabilities can be deployed across various models based on multiple vehicle platforms, enabling broader application throughout the Group’s product portfolio in China and the Global South.
Thomas Ulbrich, CTO of Volkswagen Group China: “CARIZON has always been a vital part of our local R&D efforts in China. With this new agreement, the delivery path towards L3 and L4 automated driving has become increasingly solid. This demonstrates the correctness and necessity of deeply rooting our R&D within China’s dynamic innovation eco-system.”
L2++ Enters Series Production Across Seven NEV Models
Translating its strategic roadmap into reality, the Volkswagen Group China is delivering on its commitments. By the end of 2025, CARIZON had delivered its first L2+ ADAS, enabling highway Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) and memory parking on ID. UNYX 07 and the new version of ID. UNYX 06. In the second half of 2026, CARIZON’s L2++ ADAS solutions, which expand urban NOA capabilities, have already entered series production and will be rolled out across seven all-new New Energy Vehicle (NEV) models from Volkswagen Group China spanning all joint ventures in this year, before expanding to the broader portfolio on the CEA starting next year.
Deliveries of L3 capabilities are targeted to start already in the second half of next year. This will provide a strong basis for future applications in selected markets with similar customer needs and technology requirements, including markets in the Global South.
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