Introduction: The "Made in China, for China" strategy of Volkswagen has entered the deep waters.

(Text / Observer Network, Zhou Shengming; Editor / Gao Xin)

On the day of the opening of the 8th China International Import Expo, Volkswagen Group (China) officially announced that it will independently design and develop system-level chips in China to provide computing power support for the advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving systems of its next-generation connected vehicles.

Volkswagen's self-developed chip launch ceremony, photo by Observer Network

It is reported that this chip will be developed by CARIZON. CARIZON is a joint venture between Volkswagen's software company CARIAD and Horizon Robotics, a Chinese intelligent driving technology company.

Amidst the global automotive industry's reliance on external chip supplies and the limitations in smart driving progress in Europe and the United States, Volkswagen's decision to start a self-developed chip project in China is seen as a sign that its "Made in China, for China" strategy has entered the deep waters.

From local production of electrification to local R&D of core intelligent technologies, self-developed chips also mark the beginning of the second phase of Volkswagen's intelligent layout in China.

Volkswagen becomes the first overseas automaker to self-develop chips in China

Currently, Volkswagen has become the first overseas automaker to initiate a self-developed system-level chip project in China.

Wang Sanchu, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group (China) and CEO of CARIAD China, revealed that the investment in self-developed chips is approximately 200 million US dollars. In addition, the computing power per chip reaches 500-700 TOPS, which is more than twice the computing power of the current mainstream NVIDIA Orin-X chip (254 TOPS).

Yu Kai, founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics, stated that the development of this chip is mainly executed by CARIZON, with CARIAD and Horizon Robotics providing support. It is reported that this chip will be mass-produced within the next three to five years, with the first batch of chips being applied to Chinese models of Volkswagen Group equipped with L3 or higher level autonomous driving functions.

Volkswagen said that through algorithm optimization, the chip will achieve a balance between power consumption and performance, significantly enhancing the comprehensive capabilities of the intelligent driving system in aspects such as real-time decision-making, safety redundancy, and stable operation during frequent use.

This also means that Volkswagen's chip self-development project is not limited to hardware. In terms of core software algorithms, Volkswagen will also carry out customized optimization based on this chip.

Wang Sanchu also said, "Our strategic investment has already reached the chip field. For users, this means they will see our intelligent body evolve faster. We must build our own core technologies. Only in this way can we truly meet the needs of Chinese users."

This move by Volkswagen in China is symbolic - taking "R&D in China" as the core, directly laying out the key technical lifelines of future intelligent driving in the most active innovation market globally, getting close to China's speed, ecosystem, and future.

Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Group, said that Volkswagen Group continues to strengthen the innovation foundation in key future technology areas, and the Chinese market plays an essential role in this process.

"By independently designing and developing system-level chips in China, we are mastering key technologies for future intelligent mobility. This will further consolidate the group's long-term innovation capability and promote China becoming an important source of innovation for Volkswagen Group worldwide," Diess said.

From software and hardware to the entire vehicle, Volkswagen's big plan

Notably, from chips, software, systems to the entire vehicle, Volkswagen is building a full-chain R&D system in the field of intelligent driving in China.

It is reported that this year, the first advanced driver assistance system solution from CARIZON will be officially put into mass production. Volkswagen stated that this marks the completion of the first stage of the group's intelligent driving independent R&D in China.

Notably, in order to have a solid R&D foundation for the intelligent driving assistance system, Volkswagen has independently developed an AI data engineering platform - GAIA. Through data-driven approaches, Volkswagen will rapidly iterate its advanced driver assistance system software, thereby improving user experience, accelerating development cycles, and optimizing R&D costs.

In the system level, in July last year, Volkswagen Group and Xpeng Motors formally signed a "Joint Development Agreement on Electronic and Electrical Architecture Technology." According to this agreement, the CEA electronic and electrical architecture jointly developed by both parties will be installed in locally produced Volkswagen brand models based on the CMP and MEB platforms.

It is reported that the CEA architecture significantly reduces the complexity of the operating system, while enhancing computing performance and security, and provides a foundation for the implementation of smart cabin experiences, advanced driver assistance, and continuous iterative upgrades.

Years of efforts in the field of intelligence have begun to bear fruit. Volkswagen stated that starting from 2026, the first models equipped with the CEA architecture and the advanced driver assistance functions developed by CARIZON will be delivered to Chinese consumers; by 2027, the group will launch more than 20 electric models; and by 2030, it will offer about 30 pure electric models.

From "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing", Volkswagen's localization strategy enters the deep waters

From the initial joint production to now self-developing system-level chips in China, Volkswagen's role is changing.

Previously, "making in China" was more about extending the manufacturing process; today, "researching in China" has entered the core technological fields of chips, algorithms, and electronic and electrical architectures for intelligentization.

For Volkswagen, self-developed chips are another milestone in the "Made in China, for China" strategy. As the local R&D system gradually improves and cooperative results are accelerated, the deepening of cooperation follows naturally.

Bernd Pischetsrieder, Member of the Management Board of Volkswagen Group and Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China), also said: "The launch of the self-developed system-level chip project marks another key step in our journey of technological innovation and once again fulfills the group's long-term commitment to centering on the needs of Chinese customers."

In the long term, as the first overseas automaker to initiate a self-developed chip project in China, Volkswagen's choice is representative and signifies a new starting point - foreign automakers begin to establish their own basic technological capabilities in China.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569140251206222382/

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