Volkswagen targets Level 3 driving in China from 2027 Volkswagen is expanding its partnership with Horizon Robotics to achieve this goal and strengthen the capabilities of their joint venture, Carizon. The joint venture will gain access to Horizon’s AI foundation model and use it to develop its own software stack for automated driving. Volkswagen holds a 60 per cent stake in Carizon through its software subsidiary Cariad. The company has already developed a hardware chip for intelligent driving, which is also intended for use in China. According to the German Handelsblatt, the expanded partnership aims to accelerate the development of driver assistance systems through to highly automated driving. Volkswagen plans to bring Level 3 functions to series production for customers in China from the second half of 2027. At Level 3, the vehicle can take over the driving task under defined conditions. Drivers no longer need to monitor traffic continuously but must be ready to take back control when prompted. Volkswagen will integrate the new functions into its China Electronic Architecture 2.0 (CEA 2.0), developed for vehicles based on the new China-Specific Platform (CSP). In the long term, the architecture is also intended to support the transition to Level 4 autonomy. “China is one of our key gateways to innovation and technology – particularly in software, artificial intelligence, and automated driving,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume. The solutions developed in China could potentially be deployed in selected international markets in the future, though regulatory requirements vary across regions. Volkswagen expands technology expertise in China These latest plans build on Volkswagen’s gradual expansion of its in-house capabilities for automated driving in China. In 2025, the carmaker announced that Carizon would develop its first system-on-chip (SoC) for driver assistance and automated driving. The planned computing platform, with 500 to 700 TOPS,