ZF Partners with Horizon Robotics for Advanced Level 3 ADAS Launch

ZF Group announced a collaboration with Horizon Robotics to launch an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) in the Chinese market, supporting up to SAE Level 3 of assisted driving and China’s urban “Navigate on Autopilot” (NOA). Scheduled for mass production and delivery in 2026, the system will be applied to an electric vehicle platform of a Chinese automobile brand. This move signifies a key breakthrough in ZF’s localization strategy in China in the intelligent driving field and injects strong impetus into China’s automotive industry.

The jointly developed advanced driver assistance system with a processing power of up to 1,000+ TOPS is based on ZF’s ProAI automotive-grade compute platform and includes Horizon Robotics’ latest Journey™ 6P processing hardware. It offers industry-leading efficiency in support of the ‘Transformer’ neural network architecture and furthermore empowers the seamless handling of advanced large models, including Vision Language Models (VLM), Vision Language Action (VLA), and end-to-end models. The system fully supports high-speed driving assistance, urban driving assistance, automatic parking functions, and end-to-end full-scenario driving assistance functions from parking lot to parking lot, enabling a safer, more convenient, and intelligent driving experience for users. This in-depth cooperation with Horizon Robotics not only further consolidates ZF’s global technological leadership in the ADAS field but also highlights its strategic layout of in-depth collaboration with Chinese technology enterprises to jointly build an industrial ecosystem.

As an automotive-grade central computer, the ZF ProAI features all-scenario adaptability. Thanks to its scalable and modular core design, ProAI can be configured individually and as required for all vehicle classes, types, and architectures.

“China is an innovation ‘homeroom’ and ‘gym’ for the global automotive industry and is also ZF’s most important strategic automotive market,” said Dr. Christian Brenneke, head of the Electronics & ADAS division at ZF Group. “Close cooperation with Horizon Robotics and Chinese brand automakers allows us to more accurately grasp market trends, integrate globally leading technologies with local application scenarios, and provide customers with high-value products that combine technological advancement and market adaptability.”

“ZF has profound expertise and resources in the fields of chassis, electronics and ADAS. By deepening our strategic cooperation with ZF, we will contribute our local innovations to the global industrial chain. This allows us to leverage the synergy of global resources, enabling intelligent driving to benefit consumers in China and around the world more quickly,” said Dr. Yu Kai, Founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics. “This collaboration can not only accelerate breakthroughs in next-generation intelligent driving but also promote the adoption of intelligent driving functions across a wider range of vehicles and markets, transforming intelligent mobility from ‘exclusive’ to ‘inclusive’.”

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