Volkswagen deploys AI agents in Chinese cars to compete with local automakers

Volkswagen to equip Chinese cars with AI agents, in bid to catch up in tech

BEIJING, April 21 (Reuters) - Volkswagen Group plans to equip new cars built for China with AI "agents" from the second half of this year, it said on Tuesday, as the automaker looks to catch up with the advanced technology on offer in the world's largest car market. The German giant is scrambling to compete with Chinese carmakers that are setting a faster pace on electrification, digital features, pricing, and speed of development. At an event in Beijing ahead of the start of the annual car show later this week, Volkswagen said ⁠that from the second half of this year it would feature "onboard AI agents" in vehicles that use its China-only electronic architecture. The technology would allow "highly intuitive, human-like interaction" between the vehicle and the driver while ensuring "robust personal data protection". Unlike a voice assistant that answers simple questions, AI agents can handle more complex tasks and decision-making, the company said. Volkswagen's top executive in China, Ralf Brandstaetter, told Reuters after the event that with such technology, the car can search for the highest-rated restaurant in a certain area, and then make and confirm reservations itself. It can then bring ⁠the driver to the restaurant and organise parking, he said. Volkswagen is trying to reposition itself in the country as a company with a China-specific electric and intelligent vehicle strategy rather than a legacy manufacturer with a strong internal combustion footprint. In what it calls its "largest ever electric mobility offensive" in China, ⁠the group plans to launch more than 20 new electrified vehicles, bringing a total of 50 new models to market by 2030. Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume told the event that the model launches and tech ⁠plans sent a clear message: "We are back". The automaker's "In China, for China" strategy is focused on expanding local research and development capabilities, accelerating development timelines and deepening local partnerships. Standing alongside Blume, ⁠Yu Kai, CEO of Chinese automotive chipmaker Horizon Robotics, said Volkswagen's agentic AI built with Horizon would allow the technology to expand beyond the premium segment to the mass market. Reporting by Ju-min Park and Rachel More, Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Dolan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence * ADAS, AV & Safety * EV Battery * Products * China Strategy Ju-min Park Thomson Reuters Ju-min Park is a senior correspondent for Reuters based in Beijing, covering the automobile industry. She began her career at Reuters since 2010 and previously reported on the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Alibaba's Qwen AI is coming to cars, allowing drivers order food and book hotels by voice

BEIJING -- Chinese tech giant Alibaba said Friday that its Qwen artificial intelligence model will be integrated into vehicles from automakers including BYD and a local joint venture of Volkswagen, as the industry pushes to add more in-car digital services and compete for buyers in a slowing electric vehicle market. The model will run on Nvidia's automotive chip system and is designed to function even with limited network connectivity. Alibaba said select models will allow drivers to order food delivery, book hotels, buy tickets to attractions and track packages, among other features, through voice commands. The system combines on-device processing with cloud-based computing to interpret voice commands, plan multi-step tasks and connect to services such as payments and navigation. Auto companies that will integrate Qwen into their vehicle systems include BYD, Geely, Li Auto, Changan, Dongfeng, BAIC, Great Wall Motor, SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC IM Motors. The announcement was made on the opening day of the Beijing Auto Show 2026. Earlier this year, FAW Group's Hongqi brand integrated Qwen into its in-car system, debuting in the Hongqi HS6 plug-in hybrid model. The rollout comes as Chinese automakers compete to attract buyers in a slowing electric-car market and seek to differentiate through in-car software and services. A local version of Audi in China, which replaces its four-ring logo with a wordmark, said its second model -- an electric SUV called the E7X -- will begin presales on May 8. The vehicle will incorporate AI features from ByteDance's Doubao and iFlyTek, Audi said at the auto show. It was not immediately clear whether the AI features would be available in cars exported outside China. Cadillac, the American luxury vehicle division of General Motors, also showed off a new model with voice-assistant capabilities that can connect with ByteDance's Doubao AI.

Volkswagen announces voice AI in its Chinese cars from later this year

German auto giant Volkswagen announced it's incorporating AI voice commands into its cars for the Chinese market. Starting in the second half of this year, all vehicles based on Volkswagen's China car system will feature AI agents that allow humans to control car features with voice commands, the company said on Tuesday. "The car should be like a companion," Volkswagen China CTO Thomas Ulbrich told CNBC's Eunice Yoon. He said the company's in-car AI agent would draw on tech from Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, among others, to create a tool with "personality" that can anticipate a driver's needs. The AI uses a locally trained large language model and runs entirely on the car, rather than the cloud. Volkswagen revealed four cars in Beijing on Tuesday, including the ID. UNYX 09, which the company claimed it co-developed with EV maker Xpeng in two years. The move is part of the company's strategy to recoup lost market share as China has rapidly turned to electric cars from ones powered by internal combustion engines. Over the last few years, Volkswagen has invested heavily in China, with stakes in Xpeng and automotive chipmaker Horizon Robotics. With those partnerships, the German automaker is not using Nvidia chips in its cars in China. Instead, Volkswagen is using Xpeng's Turing chip in an electric SUV set to begin deliveries by the end of June, while an advanced automotive chip project with Horizon Robotics remains under development. Volkswagen also announced Tuesday that, starting next year, it will use agentic AI to power a unified driver-assist and cockpit control system. In November, the German automaker announced its research center in Hefei could independently develop and approve technology for its Chinese cars, reducing the time to market. Over the last two years, German automotive industry companies in China have significantly increased their research and development activities in the country, with the aim of serving both the local and global market, according to a report released Tuesday by the German Chamber of Commerce in China. Nearly 80% of automotive companies surveyed by the chamber said that localizing R&D in China has lowered those costs versus Germany over the last two years, while about 43% of respondents said their innovation speed has increased by more than 40%, the report said.

Volkswagen adding AI voice assistants to China cars in 2026

Volkswagen announced it is incorporating AI voice assistants into its China-market vehicles, with the rollout set to begin in the second half of this year, according to CNBC. Voice commands will be the primary interface for the AI agents, which are coming to every model built on Volkswagen's China car platform. Rather than relying on cloud connectivity, the system processes data through a locally trained large language model stored onboard the vehicle, incorporating technology from Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. "The car should be like a companion," Volkswagen China CTO Thomas Ulbrich told CNBC. Ulbrich described the assistant as something designed to anticipate what drivers want, with a distinct sense of "personality" built in. Looking further ahead, a single agentic AI system is planned for launch next year that would integrate both driver-assist functions and cockpit controls. At a Group Media Night in Beijing, Volkswagen unveiled four vehicles, including a new member of its ID. UNYX category that it co-developed with EV maker Xpeng in two years, according to the company. Volkswagen also displayed the first all-electric model in FAW-Volkswagen's ID. AURA series, which features the company's locally developed CEA E/E architecture. The AI push is part of Volkswagen's broader effort to recover market share in China as the country shifts toward electric vehicles. The German automaker has invested in both Xpeng and automotive chipmaker Horizon Robotics in recent years. Nvidia $NVDA hardware has been sidelined in Volkswagen's Chinese lineup; an electric SUV arriving by late June will run on Xpeng's Turing chip, and a separate chip initiative tied to Horizon Robotics is still in progress, according to CNBC. A November announcement confirmed that the Hefei research center had been granted authority to greenlight its own technology decisions for Chinese models, a move aimed at shortening development cycles. The company said it plans to launch more than 20 new electrified vehicles in China in 2026 alone.

Alibaba Embeds Voice AI Into Chinese Vehicles | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. This integration was reported last week by CNBC, which noted that this is happening as the automotive industry tries to add more digital features to attract buyers as the market for electric vehicles cools. In the case of Alibaba, these features will let drivers do things like track packages, order food and reserve hotel rooms using voice commands. The system melds on-device processing with cloud-based computing to interpret voice commands, plan multi-step tasks and link with services like payments and navigation, the report added. Carmakers that will integrate Qwen into their vehicle systems include BYD, Geely and a local offshoot of Volkswagen, the report added. CNBC said it wasn't immediately clear if the company planned to make its artificial intelligence (AI) features available in cars sold outside China. According to the report, Cadillac has also showcased a new model with voice-assistant capabilities that can connect with Doubao AI, the model from Alibaba rival ByteDance. At the end of 2024, PYMNTS found that 75% of carmakers were planning on integrating AI into their vehicles. A report one year later found that these efforts didn't just apply to commercial AI products, but also using the tech in engineering, manufacturing and design. For example, BMW's AIQX quality platform runs alongside assembly operations and looks for potential issues as components progress through each stage along the factory floor. "Instead of waiting for defects to appear at the end of the line, engineers can intervene mid-process, reducing rework and operational delays," PYMNTS wrote. More recently, PYMNTS examined the expanding role of voice AI in the digital economy. In an analysis earlier this year, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster argued that voice is on the cusp of becoming the connective tissue between consumers and agentic commerce systems. "Voice will finally pull agentic commerce onto the mobile phone by turning complex, desktop-only 'go do this for me' prompts into natural, spoken conversations that consumers can have anywhere," Webster wrote, describing voice not as an incremental feature but as a way to unlock execution at scale.

VW to fit its Chinese cars with AI agents in bid to catch up on tech

STORY: Volkswagen is trying to fight back in China. The German auto giant said Tuesday it would fit its cars there with AI agents from the second half of the year. It's a move to compete with Chinese rivals, which have been grabbing market share. They are seen to have moved faster on electrification and digital tech, while also beating European brands on price. VW Chief Executive Oliver Blume spoke at an event in Beijing: "AI agents are coming to Volkswagen cars starting Q3 already this year... We know our customers like hardly anyone else. Chinese customers bring their entire digital world into the car, their messages, their payments, their daily routines and AI agents connect you to the world you already live in." VW says the agents will allow "intuitive, human-like interaction" between vehicle and driver. It says the tech goes far beyond a simple voice assistant, with the AI able to handle more complex tasks and decision-making. The news comes ahead of the Beijing Autoshow, which kicks off on Friday (April 24). It's expected to see a frenzy of product launches, with 181 new models set to debut. Much of the focus will be on whether Chinese brands can continue to outpace the Germans. VW once dominated the country's car market, but is now down to third place, behind China's BYD and Geely. In response, the German firm plans to launch 20 so-called "new energy vehicles" in China this year. That includes EVs and hybrids. Some of the new cars debuted in Beijing on Tuesday, including affordable models developed with Chinese makers.