Volkswagen Expands Autonomous Driving Collaboration with Horizon Robotics

Volkswagen Group has deepened its technology partnership with Chinese AI firm Horizon Robotics, expanding their joint venture CARIZON to leverage Horizon's base AI models. Announced on July 22, the agreement adopts a white-box licensing model that allows CARIZON to independently develop and iterate Volkswagen's unified AI driving solution in China. CARIZON plans to roll out full-scenario driver assistance across seven new joint-venture electrified models starting in Q3 2026, targeting Level 3 autonomous driving delivery as early as the second half of 2027.

The shift toward a white-box licensing framework reflects a fundamental change in how global automakers source technology in China. Rather than buying proprietary, pre-packaged software modules, Volkswagen is securing access to underlying AI base architectures to build its own software capability, signaling that China's tech ecosystem is becoming a primary R&D engine for global vehicle platforms.

Volkswagen Group has expanded its technology partnership with Chinese AI chipmaker Horizon Robotics to co-develop artificial intelligence foundation models for autonomous driving. Under an agreement announced on July 22, CARIZON—a joint venture established by Volkswagen's software unit CARIAD (60%) and Horizon Robotics (40%) in November 2023—will adopt a "white-box" licensing model to build Volkswagen's unified AI driving solution in China. Unlike traditional "black-box" or "grey-box" supplier relationships where automakers receive pre-packaged systems with limited scope for modification, the white-box arrangement provides CARIZON access to Horizon's base AI models, underlying architecture, software, and toolchains. This enables the joint venture to perform deep secondary development, construct end-to-end models, and continuously update its self-driving stack. The expanded collaboration highlights an ongoing shift in how multinational carmakers operate in China, moving from legacy production agreements toward joint development of core software capabilities. Volkswagen Chairman Oliver Blume stated that China has become a key global innovation engine for the group in software, AI, and autonomous driving, noting that solutions developed through the partnership will serve Chinese customers and could support select international markets in the future. CARIZON has established a multi-year deployment timeline. By the end of 2025, the joint venture delivered its initial advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) for the ID.UNYX 07 and updated ID.UNYX 06 models, offering highway navigation pilot and memory parking functions. Starting in the third quarter of 2026, CARIZON's full-scenario ADAS is scheduled to launch across seven new electrified models from Volkswagen's three joint ventures in China. The automaker is also targeting the introduction of Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities as early as the second half of 2027. According to the agreement, the new AI foundation model will operate alongside CARIZON's in-development C7H system-on-chip, its GAIA world model data platform, and Volkswagen's locally developed China Electronic Architecture (CEA).