- Volkswagen has begun real-world road testing and data collection for L3 technology in Hefei.
- Volkswagen China will hold its first Technology Day in Hefei on October 28 to showcase its latest technological advances.
Volkswagen has secured a road test permit for L3 autonomous driving in Hefei, Anhui province, and has begun real-world road testing and data collection for the technology in the city.
The permit marks a key step in the German auto giant’s efforts to deploy advanced autonomous driving technology in China.
It represents further progress toward the group’s goal of achieving L3 autonomous driving technology readiness in 2027, Volkswagen China said in a statement on Monday.
The company did not disclose the models covered by the permit, the test routes or the size of the test fleet.
Volkswagen China will hold its first Technology Day in Hefei on Wednesday, October 28, to showcase its latest technological advances, it said.
Volkswagen has outlined its L3 timeline in China on several occasions. On April 11, Frank Han, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China and CEO of Cariad China, told a forum in Beijing that Volkswagen would achieve L3 conditional autonomous driving in 2027 and L4 autonomous driving in 2029.
On July 22, Volkswagen and Horizon Robotics (HKEX: 9660) announced plans to deepen their collaboration on AI foundation models through their joint venture, Carizon.
Under the plans outlined at the time, deliveries of vehicles equipped with Volkswagen’s L3 autonomous driving capabilities were set to begin as early as the second half of 2027.
Carizon was established in December 2023 by Volkswagen’s software subsidiary Cariad and Horizon Robotics, with its headquarters in Beijing. Volkswagen invested about €2.4 billion in the joint venture and holds a 60% stake.
Carizon will use Horizon Robotics’ AI foundation model to develop a unified AI driving solution for Volkswagen Group in China. The solution will work with its C7H system-on-chip, which is under development, and the GAIA world model data platform to support the deployment of L3 and L4 capabilities.
China is gradually opening the door to commercial applications of L3 autonomous driving.
In December 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) granted its first conditional L3 product approvals for regular passenger vehicles.
The approved models were the Deepal SL03 from Changan Automobile (SZSE: 000625) and the Arcfox Alpha S from BAIC Group.
An MIIT official said on October 22 that work on a second batch of L3 product approval pilots was underway, without identifying the automakers or models involved.
A road test permit differs from product approval. The former allows automakers to test conditional autonomous driving on designated road sections, while the latter allows approved vehicles to participate in road-use pilots on designated road sections.
The standard requires autonomous driving systems to be at least as safe as a competent and attentive driver performing the dynamic driving task.
