Volkswagen Photo: CFP

 
The Chinese market is highly advanced and companies have to accelerate the pace of their innovation, said Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of CARIAD, an automotive software company under Volkswagen Group, in an interview with the Global Times. Hilgenberg was speaking after the largest single investment in China's chip industry.

CARIAD announced in October that it would form a joint venture with Horizon Robotics, one of the leading providers of computing solutions for smart vehicles in China, with CARIAD as the majority shareholder. 

Volkswagen Group will invest €2.4 billion ($2.47 billion) in the cooperation with Horizon Robotics.

“In a car market and environment as competitive as China, speed is of great significance. By partnering with Chinese technology company Horizon, we can jointly accelerate innovation in China, develop advanced driver assistance systems for the Chinese market and autonomous driving-related features, and bring together talent for the arrival of L4 autonomous driving,” Hilgenberg said.

The cooperation with Horizon is the first open cooperation between CARIAD and a Chinese high-tech startup and is a key step in improving autonomous driving, the Global Times learned.

Through the cooperation, CARIAD will integrate the Chinese high-tech startup into the supply chain system of software and hardware solutions of Volkswagen Group. 

Together CARIAD and Horizon Robotics plan to develop cutting-edge, highly optimized full stack ADAS/AD solutions for China to drive forward the integration of numerous functions on one chip, increasing the stability of the system while cutting costs and reducing energy consumption, according to a newsletter on the CARIAD website.  

Hilgenberg described the Chinese tech start-up's research and development team as "highly innovative and committed to coming up with incredible innovations to drive the development of the entire market, including improving the safety of autonomous driving." 

Chang Qing, CEO of CARIAD's China subsidiary, added that Volkswagen's production and integration advantages and Horizon's algorithm, software and chip capabilities can complement each other's development and innovation.

Since the establishment of CARIAD’s China subsidiary, the company has planned six key areas for innovation and development for the Chinese market, including user experience, user interaction and autonomous driving.