Germany’s Volkswagen and Chinese EV pure play start-up Xpeng have entered into a master agreement on electrical/electronic (E/E) collaboration that aims to jointly develop E/E architecture for all vehicles based on Volkswagen’s China Main (CMP) and Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) platforms made in China.
The two firms expect the new agreement to assist their moves into advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD). And there continues to be appetite, at least from Xpeng, to push the fruits of any collaboration beyond China.
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VW and Xpeng first announced a partnership back in July last year, before deepening the alliance with a series of joint initiatives kicked off in February to collaborate on platform and software technology and for a joint sourcing scheme for vehicle and platform parts. The two firms struck the framework agreement for their E/E architecture technical collaboration, on which the new master agreement builds, in April.
Both sides are excited about moving ADAS and AD forward as part of the alliance. “Our Cariad China team will develop really to a coding-focused company and will deliver an ADAS and infotainment stack,” says Ralf Brandstaetter, VW management board member for China of the role his firm’s software arm will play in the collaboration.
The new China Electronic Architecture (CEA) “will become the central digital system for the locally produced Volkswagen brand e-portfolio in China — including all cars on CMP and MEB — starting 2026”, Brandstaetter continues, describing CEA as a “game changer”.
It promises, in his view, reduced complexity, as three powerful central computers will take over electronic functions, leading to a 30pc reduction in the number of control units, as well as the scalability to allow VW to accelerate the “digital expansion” of its China model portfolio. He also stresses its “future-ready upgradability”, as applications including ADAS and future software updates “can be integrated easily thanks to its high computing power”.
Perhaps most importantly, he foresees “optimised” cost structures, as reduced complexity drives down costs, a benefit VW will “pass on to our customers”, Brandstaetter vows. The new architecture will “bring the complexity down, bring the cost down and improve the experience for our customers”.
Xpeng CEO Xiaopeng He is on the same page regarding future technological capabilities. “I think the E/E architecture is most important for smart cars,” He says.
Over the last six months, his firm’s AD capabilities have grown “very, very fast”, he continues, repeating a goal of AD in Chinese urban areas and highways by sometime next year. And he hails his firm’s technology as “better than the Level 4 robotaxis released by other companies”.
But where VW and Xpeng may still have tensions is beyond China. No less than five times in its news release on the master agreement, Xpeng refers to expanding the scope of the firms’ existing collaboration.
And He suggests that, within the next two years, VW cars in China and in Europe (EV inFocus’ bold) will be able to receive over-the-air updates “very quickly”. That contrasts sharply with Brandstaetter’s characterisation of CEA as “technologically and economically geared exclusively to the specific needs of the Chinese market”.
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