Volkswagen said it will collaborate with Horizon Robotics to develop smart driving chips in China, marking the German automaker’s latest move to strengthen its in-house technological capabilities in the world’s largest auto market.
The companies’ joint venture, Carizon — established in December 2023 between Volkswagen’s software unit Cariad and Horizon Robotics — will independently develop its first System-on-Chip (SoC) in China, the automaker announced at the 8th China International Import Expo. The SoC will power Volkswagen’s next-generation advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving functions for vehicles tailored to Chinese consumers.
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Volkswagen said the new SoC is designed for China’s complex road environments and is expected to be delivered within three to five years. The chip will deliver 500 to 700 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of computing power, placing it on par with Nvidia’s Thor chip, currently used in many of China’s premium electric vehicle (EV) models. The company said the SoC will “greatly enhance real-time decision-making, computational efficiency, and system safety.”
Carizon’s first ADAS solution is scheduled to enter production in 2025, with deployment in the first Volkswagen models in 2026, signaling the start of the second phase of Volkswagen’s localized smart driving strategy. Headquartered in Beijing, Carizon aims to integrate Horizon’s Journey series chips into Volkswagen’s upcoming battery electric vehicle (BEV) lineup in China.
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The move comes as several Chinese EV makers pursue similar strategies to gain autonomy over their smart driving technology. Nio launched its chip initiative in 2021 and unveiled its in-house Shenji NX9031 chip in December 2023. The Nio ET9 sedan, which began deliveries in March, features two of these chips, each offering computing power equivalent to four mainstream autonomous driving processors combined.
Meanwhile, Xpeng has developed its Turing AI chip, delivering more than 700 TOPS, with several 2025 models employing three of these processors. As China’s intelligent vehicle market accelerates, Volkswagen’s collaboration with Horizon positions it among a growing number of global automakers localizing advanced technology development to better compete with domestic rivals.