Volkswagen begins Level 3 autonomous driving tests in Hefei

Volkswagen Group China has received a public road test permit for Level 3 autonomous driving in Hefei, Anhui province. Trials on the city's complex street network are already underway, allowing for large-scale data collection to train the system. The carmaker is targeting technical readiness for production in China by the second half of 2027.

This development occurs at Volkswagen's largest development hub outside Germany, the Volkswagen China Technology Company in Hefei. The location also houses the Volkswagen Anhui manufacturing base, which is focused on electric vehicle production. The permit authorizes testing only and does not yet allow for vehicle sales.

Targeting 2027 production readiness in China

Volkswagen aims to make its Level 3 technology ready for the Chinese market by 2027. In July, the company, along with partners CARIZON and Horizon Robotics, announced deeper cooperation targeting vehicle deliveries in the second half of that year. A massive simulation effort underpins this timeline. The company plans to double its daily simulation mileage to 6,200,000 miles, building toward a future capacity of 10 million kilometres of safety testing per day.

Technology and data scale underpin development

The test fleet utilizes the Hyper Sense 8 driver assistance system. This technology was developed by CARIZON, a joint venture between Volkswagen's software unit CARIAD and Horizon Robotics. Volkswagen describes Hyper Sense 8 as its first ADAS system designed to cover the full range of road scenarios. It is built on an internal world model called GAIA 2.0, which currently runs safety simulations equivalent to 3,110,000 miles of road travel daily using 30 million scenario recordings. A custom system-on-chip named C7H is being developed to process this data and scale the technology toward future Level 4 autonomy.

China's regulatory progress enables deployment

China's regulatory environment is advancing to support higher levels of automation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the first formal Level 3 product approvals in December 2025. Volkswagen's Hefei testing complies with the city's revised regulatory framework, which incorporates updated safety design specifications. The first approved models set specific operational limits, as shown in the table below.

This regulatory shift is significant because Level 3 systems transfer legal liability from the driver to the manufacturer, unlike Level 2 systems where the driver remains fully responsible. Other Chinese automakers, including GAC's Hyptec brand and XPeng, have also been accumulating testing miles under regional permits. Volkswagen Group China CEO Ralf Brandstätter emphasized the company's priority, stating, "At Volkswagen, safety and reliability come first in autonomous driving. Technological progress must never come at the expense of safety."

The company's management believes private car buyers still want personal ownership rather than a taxi subscription model, which justifies its focus on Level 3 development. As it works toward the 2027 goal, Volkswagen plans to double its simulation capacity to 6,200,000 miles daily.