Horizon (09660) Joins Hands with Volkswagen Group to Deepen AI Cooperation to Help Volkswagen Accelerate a New Era of L3 and L4 Autonomous Driving

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 22, Horizon (09660) and Volkswagen Group officially announced that through CARIAD's joint venture with Horizon (CARIZON), the Volkswagen Group will further deepen technical cooperation with Horizon in the field of AI-based large models. According to the agreement, Core Cheng will independently develop and accelerate the construction of Volkswagen Group's unified AI driving solution in China based on the white box licensing model and relying on Horizon's advanced AI base large model capabilities.

The Horizon AI base model will closely collaborate with the C7H system-level chip being developed by Core Process and the GAIA world model data platform to fully enable the implementation of Volkswagen Group's L3 and L4 autonomous driving capabilities, lay a solid technical foundation for future passenger cars and autonomous taxis (Robotaxi) application scenarios, and will also drive continuous iterative upgrading of full-scene advanced driver assistance solutions for mass production.

This intelligent driving technology system, which is powered by AI, will be deeply integrated with the CEA architecture, the first locally developed region-controlled electronic and electrical architecture of the Volkswagen Group. Relying on the Group's platform-based advantages, these technologies can be flexibly adapted to multiple vehicle platforms and deployed on a wide range of models to achieve wider application in the Group's product matrix for China and some international markets.

With this deepening cooperation with Horizon, the Volkswagen Group is continuing to build a solid foundation for its local autonomous driving technology. Adhering to the “in China, for China” strategy, the Volkswagen Group is moving the strategic blueprint for intelligent driving from planning to reality through Core Process, a joint venture with Horizon. By the end of 2025, Core Range's first advanced driver assistance system had been delivered and applied to the Yonghong 07 and the new Yonge 06, bringing users functions such as high-speed pilot-assisted driving and memory parking. At the same time, Core Range's full-scene advanced driver assistance solution has entered the mass production stage, further supporting urban pilot assistance capabilities. Starting in the third quarter of this year, it will be equipped with seven new electrified models in Volkswagen Group's three joint ventures in China, and will gradually expand to a wider CEA series product matrix starting next year. According to the plan, the Volkswagen Group will begin delivery of L3 autonomous driving capabilities in the second half of 2027 as soon as possible.

Obomu, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group, said: “China has become one of the Group's important innovation engines globally, particularly in the fields of software, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. This deepening cooperation will further strengthen our ability to develop and apply AI autonomous driving solutions on a large scale. By combining world-class AI capabilities with the Group's deep engineering expertise, we will be able to better serve Chinese customers and support the Group's business development in some international markets in the future.”

VW Group's managing director in China and Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China), said: “The scheduled mass production of full-scene advanced driver assistance solutions fully demonstrates our technical delivery capabilities and independent research and development capabilities. Based on this, we are committed to developing one of the most advanced autonomous driving systems in the future market for Chinese customers, and to become an industry benchmark in terms of safety and anthropomorphic driving experience. Relying on the current industry-leading AI base model for autonomous driving, the Group will further enhance its technical advantages to ensure that self-developed L3 and L4 autonomous driving solutions can be developed and applied more quickly, safely and on a large scale.”

Yu Kai, founder and CEO of Horizon, said, “As automotive intelligence accelerates to L3 and L4 autonomous driving, the industry places higher demands on the ability of the underlying AI models to handle complex road conditions. This year, the Core Range full-scene advanced driver assistance solution, which deeply integrates the power of Horizon software and hardware, was officially mass-produced, marking a milestone in our strategic cooperation with the Volkswagen Group. Based on this solid foundation, we are honored to further deepen cooperation with Volkswagen to provide a solid technical foundation for the public to move towards L3 and L4 with an advanced AI base model, which will also further consolidate the “ARM+Android” platform-based business model. In the future, Horizon will always adhere to its position as a lower-level enabler and work with the public to accelerate the large-scale inclusion of cutting-edge AI technology.”

Currently, China's automobile industry is leading the global wave of intelligent transformation, and Chinese technology companies represented by Horizon are continuing to inject momentum into global innovation. This in-depth cooperation between Horizon and Volkswagen Group in the field of large AI base models will further integrate the core strengths of both parties in vehicle manufacturing and intelligent driving, and accelerate the large-scale adoption of intelligent technology in China on a global scale. Facing the future, Horizon will continue to make full use of the technical strength of software and hardware integration, continue to empower the industry, and help comprehensively upgrade the intelligent mobility ecosystem.