Volkswagen unveiled a China-focused product blitz with more than 20 new-energy vehicles in 2026 (about a new product every two weeks), 13 NEVs this year for the Volkswagen brand, and a plan for roughly 50 electrified models by 2030 across multiple local joint ventures and brands like Audi and Jetta.
The company set out an accelerated ADAS and AI roadmap: CARIZON’s Level 2+/2++ systems are rolling out this year, Volkswagen says a Level 3 solution will be ready within two years, and in-car AI agents are slated to begin arriving from Q3, backed by Horizon Robotics chips and the GAIA simulation/training platform.
Volkswagen is localizing technology and speeding development — it built a China electronic/electrical architecture in 18 months, cut development time by ~30% and claims up to a 50% reduction in platform costs via local engineering hubs and partnerships.
Volkswagen (ETR:VOW3) used its Group Media Night in Beijing ahead of Auto China 2026 to outline what CEO Oliver Blume called a “milestone moment” in the company’s localized strategy for the Chinese market, including a major new-energy vehicle rollout, a quicker development cadence, and a push to bring advanced driver assistance and AI-driven features into mass-market models.
Blume said Volkswagen Group has participated in Auto China since 1990 and described the current period as a turning point as the company accelerates “its transformation into a true tech-driven leader.” He framed China as central to Volkswagen’s global ambitions, calling it “a fitness center for the automotive industry” where technology cycles are shorter and competition is more intense.
According to Blume, the company’s “in China for China” approach includes locally developed technology backed by German engineering and partnerships with Chinese firms. He highlighted a new regional electric/electronic architecture built in 18 months, the creation of a development hub in Hefei, and the establishment of Horizon as a center for advanced ADAS.
Blume also cited operational improvements, saying Volkswagen reduced development time by 30% and cut platform costs by up to 50%. He said the company will show “10 new vehicles” including “four world premieres” across “four strong brands.”
Looking ahead, Blume said “more than 20 new energy vehicles will reach customers” this year—“on average, a new product every two weeks”—and that the lineup is expected to expand to “around 50 electrified models by 2030,” which he called the company’s biggest product offensive in China.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner introduced the AUDI E7X as an all-electric SUV designed specifically for China’s fast-growing NEV market. Döllner said Audi combined “unmistakable Audi DNA, engineering excellence, progressive design, and premium quality with China’s digital ecosystem and innovation speed.”
On performance, Döllner said the E7X will offer “up to 500 kW of power,” accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in “just 3.9 seconds,” and include quattro all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and adaptive air suspension. He added that the model will feature a “Level 2++ driver assistance system developed for local traffic” and a fully integrated digital ecosystem.
Döllner also said Audi is “already planning to introduce Level 3 highly automated driving capabilities on the AUDI E7X,” describing it as the debut of the technology for Audi “worldwide and in China.” He said Audi is expanding local development with SAIC, including a new Audi Innovation & Technology Center in Shanghai, and noted that “four all-new Audi models are planned.”
In a separate segment focused on the A6L nameplate, Döllner said Audi has sold “more than 3 million A6L in China” since 1999. He positioned the A6L e-tron as an extension of the lineup into EVs, describing it as Audi’s “first all-electric Audi sedan in this upper segment,” produced locally with an “800-volt architecture.” Döllner said the car can charge “up to 302 km of range in just 10 minutes” and deliver “a total range of up to 815 km.” He added that Audi is working with local partners “like Huawei” to deliver Level 2++ driver assistance and a China-specific infotainment experience.
Volkswagen Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer presented the ID. AURA T6 as the first model in the ID. AURA series from FAW-Volkswagen and described it as a fully electric mid-size SUV targeting a high-volume segment. Schäfer said the model follows a new “China design DNA” and will be the first SUV equipped with Volkswagen’s China electronic architecture, the CEA.
He also said it would be Volkswagen’s first electric model to offer “LIDAR-based Level 2 advanced driver assistance developed by CARIZON,” a joint venture between CARIAD China and Horizon Robotics.
Schäfer said the ID. AURA T6, along with the ID. AERA 9X and the ID. UNYX 08, completes the first wave of the brand’s product offensive through three joint ventures. He said Volkswagen plans to launch “13 new NEV models this year” and “more than 30 new NEV models by 2029” across ID. AURA, ID. AERA, and ID. UNYX, spanning powertrains from battery electric to plug-in hybrid and range extender vehicles.
On the ID. UNYX category from Volkswagen Anhui, Schäfer said it stands for progressive design, “state-of-the-art intelligence,” and benchmark driving dynamics. He introduced the close-to-production ID. UNYX 09 as a five-meter-long sedan aimed at a “status-driven” segment, with market entry planned in the second half of the year. Schäfer said the vehicle is the second model from Volkswagen’s XPENG cooperation and was developed in “just 24 months,” featuring Level 2 advanced driving with navigation on autopilot, a smart AI assistant, and high computing power.
Addressing the RMB 100,000 segment, Schäfer said Volkswagen’s strategy is to electrify the Jetta brand to bring “high-quality smart mobility at an affordable price.” He said more than 5 million Chinese customers have trusted the Jetta brand and described the Jetta X’s new design language as translating the brand’s “solid, and dependable DNA” into a modern presence. Schäfer said Volkswagen plans to introduce “four NEV models under the new Jetta brand” by 2028.
Blume returned to the stage with Horizon Robotics founder and CEO Yu Kai to discuss Volkswagen’s intelligent-driving efforts. Blume said that at the prior year’s Shanghai Auto Show, the company committed to a self-developed ADAS solution “made in China for China,” and said, “Today we can say we have delivered.”
He stated that Level 2+ has “already launched on Seer in just 18 months,” and said that in the second half of this year Volkswagen will bring “six model with Level 2++ capabilities.” Blume attributed the accelerated pace to combining Volkswagen’s ability to scale its “safety DNA and engineering excellence” with Horizon’s AI expertise, noting that CARIZON includes “700 ADAS experts” working on code, training, and upgrades.
Yu described the system as integrating hardware and software, saying it is built on “Horizon Journey 6 SoC chips” and uses “a leading one stage end-to-end architecture with reinforcement learning capabilities developed by CARIZON.”
Blume provided additional development metrics tied to Volkswagen’s GAIA AI-driven development system. He said Volkswagen can simulate “up to 300,000 km of testing” in a single day, and that “each vehicle generates up to 5 TB of training data.” He also said CARIZON completed “100 million km of testing” over the past 12 months for its Hi-Res Level 2+ solution, and that validation runs are “up to 20 times faster using AI.” Blume said GAIA is being upgraded to version 2.0, described as a “true world model,” which he said increases efficiency “by a factor of 10” and “paves the way for our Level 3 solution…ready to go within the next two years.”
Beyond ADAS, Yu outlined a next step that integrates smart driving and an intelligent cockpit via a single AI agent interface, arguing it could shift the car from a “hardware-centric mobility tool to an intelligence-centric AI carrier.” Blume said Volkswagen aims to make these features broadly accessible: “E-mobility for all, ADAS for all, and now AI agents for all.”
Blume said “AI agents are coming to Volkswagen cars starting Q3 already this year,” describing the move as enabled by Volkswagen’s integration into China’s innovation ecosystem and the way Chinese customers bring “their entire digital world into the car.”
Volkswagen AG manufactures and sells automobiles in Germany, Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Power Engineering, and Financial Services. The Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles segment engages in the development of vehicles, engines, and vehicle software; produces and sells passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and related parts; and offers motorcycles.
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