Volkswagen has announced a major expansion of its collaboration with Chinese autonomous driving technology company Horizon Robotics through its China-based software joint venture, CARIZON. The strengthened partnership is designed to accelerate the development of next-generation AI-powered autonomous driving systems for the Chinese market and future global deployment.

Under the new agreement, CARIZON will leverage Horizon Robotics' advanced AI foundation model to enhance Volkswagen's in-house software capabilities and speed up the development of intelligent driving solutions. The cooperation covers both Level 3 autonomous driving, allowing drivers to take their eyes off the road under certain conditions, and future Level 4 autonomous driving technologies for robotaxi applications.

Volkswagen plans to introduce Level 3-enabled vehicles in China during the second half of 2027, while its Level 2++ urban intelligent driving system will begin rolling out across China-market models this year. The company also intends to integrate the new AI platform with its next-generation electronic architecture developed alongside Xpeng.

As competition in China's intelligent vehicle market intensifies, Volkswagen is accelerating local innovation to strengthen its competitiveness and support exports from China to emerging markets, including the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.