Volkswagen is putting AI-powered driver assistance into its Chinese EVs
Tech
VW unveils AI-powered ADAS system for next-gen EVs at Auto Shanghai 2025 Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
VW is stepping up its autonomous driving game in China. It's readying a fancy AI-based driver assistance suite underpinned by a self-developed chipset for its next-generation electric cars.
For the last 18 months, the clever folk at Carizon – a joint venture between China's Horizon Robotics and VW's Cariad software division – have been developing a platform called 'Gaia' that ingests data like a gannet and spits out AI solutions 20 times faster than a conventional data analysis engine.
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When it comes to training autonomous driving programmes, that's fast. And having covered over 62,000 miles of testing in that short space of time, AI has enabled Carizon to train vehicles to navigate complex traffic situations in a more human-like manner.
No, that doesn't mean the system flaps and freezes. Instead, the system can keep its cool under pressure, and is now sufficiently capable to be integrated into VW and Audi EVs for the Chinese market from next year. You might like
Volkswagen Group board member for China Ralf Brandstätter, said: 'The rapid progress in developing our new ADAS system highlights Carizon's technical capabilities and developing cutting-edge technology locally - at 'China Speed' - tailored to our Chinese customers, with the highest standards in driving performance, safety and quality.'
According to Carizon's figures, 25 per cent of new cars in China use Level 2 autonomous driving capabilities – that's a US-designated label to denote a car that can provide 'steering and braking support to the driver, alongside lane centering'. Carizon wants to get to L2++.
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Why not call it L3? That's because Level 3 sees the car legally take over in limited conditions, like low-speed traffic jams, and give control back to the driver appropriately.
Carizon chief Marcus Hafkemeyer, said: 'With a team of 500 local ADAS experts and the consistent integration of AI in the development process, we will bring Level 2+ ADAS to the road. Level 2++ ADAS with Urban Navigate on Autopilot (NoA) is in advanced testing and will be launched in 2026. This will also enable us to lay the technological foundations for a fast-track evolution towards Level 3.' More as we get it.
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A local startup is helping travellers experience Sri Lanka like a local – and changing lives in the process. I had pictured what my journey from the highlands of Ella to the Unesco city of Kandy would look like, but this was even better. The looping mountain roads stretched out before me as I drove through palm tree-lined valleys and past reservoirs so blue they looked as if they'd been photoshopped. Purple-faced langurs with their bushy white beards sat on the roadside and looked inquisitively at me, while elephants occasionally sauntered into the street. This was a road trip that couldn't be hurried. While I could have zipped along in a hire car, I knew this the journey would be far more fun trundling along in a self-drive tuk-tuk. For the last 50 years, tuk-tuks or three wheelers have become a typical sight in Sri Lanka. Motorised versions were imported into the country by the Indian Bajaj Auto Company in the late 1970s, and by the '90s they were ubiquitous. Now there are one million of them putt-putting along Sri Lanka's highways. Serving as family saloons and taxi cabs to police vehicles and three-wheeled bakeries, these workhorses have proven they're more functional than a Swiss army knife. Holidaymakers fell for the fearless vehicles too, but while they could catch a ride in the hardworking three wheelers, they were only allowed as passengers. Then in 2016, with the launch of Katunayake-based start-up TukTuk Rental, tourists were given the keys to an adventure they would never forget. You can now hire and drive a vehicle, choose your own route through the highlands or along the palm-fringed beaches and stop for a cup of milk tea when the mood takes you. But what makes this experience extra special is that this business, which marries social good with financial goals, leases its tuk-tuks from locals. Since it started, around Rs300,000,000 (US$1m) has gone into the pockets of 1,000 families in Sri Lanka. 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