Volkswagen's CARIZON and Horizon Robotics deepen self-driving partnership in China

By Rachel More

BERLIN, July 22 (Reuters) - Volkswagen said on Wednesday its China-based automated driving unit CARIZON will deepen its partnership with Horizon Robotics to speed up development of advanced self-driving technologies.

Under pressure to keep up with Chinese brands, Volkswagen and other European carmakers have increasingly shifted tech development to the world's largest auto market, leveraging China's growing advantage in technologies such as electric vehicles and advanced software.

Volkswagen said its latest agreement with Horizon Robotics gives CARIZON access to the Chinese company's AI foundation model, enabling the German company to build its own AI driving solutions faster.

This includes Level 3 capabilities, where the driver can take their eyes off the road, and Level 4 capabilities for robotaxis, which do not require a driver.

TECH STRENGTHENS COMPETITIVENESS IN CHINA

Deliveries of Level 3-enabled models are slated to begin in China in the second half of next year, Volkswagen said in a statement.

The company is set to begin rolling out so-called Level 2++ technology for urban assisted driving, an increasingly standard feature in the region, across its China models this year.

CARIZON CEO Peter Bosch hailed the expanded partnership as "a powerful example of how we combine advanced AI technologies with strong in-house software and systems engineering, while scaling solutions across architectures and vehicle platforms".

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said the move would "reinforce our competitiveness in China, and open up new opportunities in selected international markets".

Alongside Horizon Robotics, Volkswagen has partnered with Chinese EV maker Xpeng to develop a new electronics platform for their models in China.

This will be closely integrated with the new AI-enabled self-driving system, enabling broader deployment as Volkswagen looks to export from China to markets like the Middle East, Central Asia and South-East Asia as the Chinese market slows.

(Reporting by Amir Orusov and Rachel More; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Jan Harvey)