News
German carmaker Volkswagen has announced plans to develop its first in-house chip for use in its next generation of smart driving vehicles for the Chinese market.
VW will develop the AI chip as part of a joint venture between its software unit, Cariad, and Horizon Robotics, its Chinese smart driving software partner.
The decision marks VW’s latest effort to keep up with Chinese competition and consolidate its foothold in the world’s largest automotive market. Since 2022, Volkswagen has invested more than $4 billion in an attempt to shore up its Chinese business. Analysts have recognised VW as one of the few foreign automakers to demonstrate a serious intent to win back Chinese consumers.
In light of this, the German group also paid $700 million for a 5% stake in Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng. The collaboration granted VW a non-voting observer position on XPeng’s board and the opportunity to jointly develop a series of electric vehicles.
VW’s new chip will be used to process data from cameras and sensors to enhance the advanced driving capabilities of its next generation of EVs. These models will feature a single-chip computing power of 500 to 700 tera operations per second (TOPS).
The chips are commonly used in connected devices such as mobile phones and are critical in the production of advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving systems.
Volkswagen Chief Executive Oliver Blume justified the startegic decision to begin development in China, saying,
“By designing and developing the system-on-chip (SoC) here in China, we are taking control of a key technology that will define the future of intelligent driving.”
The technology is expected to become available within the next three to five years and will cost over $200 million to develop.
Keep up-to-date with the latest mobility news by subscribing to MOVEMNT’s free newsletter
