Volkswagen Unveils AI-Driven ADAS System for China

Beijing, China- Volkswagen is strengthening its local tech footprint in China through its “In China, for China” strategy, with a major leap in AI-powered driving. At Auto Shanghai, Volkswagen will unveil its first proprietary, self-learning, highly automated driving system, tailored for China’s complex traffic environments. Designed to ensure seamless and safe performance, the system utilizes a powerful System-on-Chip (SoC) for rapid, intelligent responses to diverse driving scenarios. A production model featuring this technology will launch in China before year-end, with broader integration into price-sensitive CMP-based models starting next year.

This milestone reflects Volkswagen’s growing in-house capabilities in high-demand tech for Chinese consumers. Already, one in four new vehicles in China is equipped with Level 2 driving systems, with Level 2+ expected to exceed 80% market penetration by 2030, and Level 2++ reaching 75%.

In support of this vision, Volkswagen founded CARIZON in November 2023—a joint venture between its software arm CARIAD and Horizon Robotics. With over 500 software engineers across Beijing and Shanghai, CARIZON has led the charge in developing Volkswagen’s new ADAS platform.

At the heart of the system is GAIA, CARIZON’s proprietary AI-driven data platform. Collecting two terabytes of data per vehicle daily and leveraging over 100,000 km of test driving each day, GAIA enables human-like, predictive driving behavior while proactively avoiding hazards. GAIA also accelerates AI training and validation—making data analysis six times faster and reducing verification cycles to one-twentieth of conventional methods.

This breakthrough enables Volkswagen and CARIZON to develop and validate vast numbers of real-world driving scenarios rapidly, reducing cost and time while enhancing safety and user experience.

Mr. Marcus Hafkemeyer, CEO of CARIZON, said, “With a team of 500 local ADAS experts and the consistent integration of AI in the development process, we have built an advanced ADAS system in a very short time one that will deliver outstanding performance in driving performance and safety. This year, we will bring Level 2+ ADAS to the road. Level 2++ ADAS with Urban Navigate on Autopilot (NoA) is in advanced testing and will be launched in 2026. This will also enable us to lay the technological foundations for a fast-track evolution towards Level 3.”

Mr. Ralf Brandstätter, Volkswagen AG Group Board Member for China and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said, “With our new ADAS system, we are demonstrating what is possible when strengths of Volkswagen are combined with local innovation. The system has been developed at ‘China speed’, fully tailored to the needs of our Chinese customers and will set a new benchmark in the market for driving performance, safety and quality. The rapid progress we have made reflects the outstanding capabilities of our joint venture CARIZON and the successful implementation of our ‘In China, for China’ strategy.”