China has rapidly emerged as the global frontrunner in intelligent and connected vehicle development, driven by strong policy support, high consumer acceptance of digital ecosystems, and intense competition among domestic and international OEMs. The Chinese automotive market is fast-moving and highly transformative, with digitalization and electrification as main tech drivers.

This presentation explores key market trends shaping AI-powered vehicles in China, including advancements in highly assisted driving, in-vehicle AI assistants, data-driven user experiences and state of the art SDV architectures. It further examines how legislation and technology can go hand in hand to achieve enhanced customer experience. 

By analyzing industry strategies, technology partnerships, and regulatory developments, the presentation provides insights into how China’s unique innovation ecosystem including tech players, authorities and regulation bodies is redefining automotive standards and influencing global mobility transformation.

Multiple trends are reshaping the automotive industry. Regional differences are playing a more important role, both due to local user demands and a growing segmentation of the world. Due to new technologies like AI, vehicles are becoming personalized and connected to the digital ecosystem. Regional differences are playing a more important role, both due to local user demands and a growing segmentation of the world. At the same time, China is setting a new benchmark in innovation speed and establishing a new cost baseline. This fuels the transformation of the industry and makes us rethink the future vehicle.

How can we scale in a stagnating market under transformation? How can we speed up innovation? How can we make vehicles more affordable? The levers for this change span new vehicle architectures, new technologies, different ways of working, and the formation of partnerships in the mobility ecosystem.

As SDVs evolve, a critical architectural debate emerges: Is the massive centralization of computing power in a few system-on-chips, the SoCs, the only way forward? In his keynote, Peter Schiefer challenges whether it is. He discusses how microcontrollers bring distributed, secure, deterministic, energy-efficient and resilient compute power to the SDV. Discover how putting the “right compute” exactly where it matters most. Join Peter Schiefer to explore architecting SDVs that truly drive the future of mobility and why Europe is in a unique position to play a leading role. 

This presentation explores the revolutionary impact of edge AI technology on the automotive industry, examining how intelligent capabilities are redefining driving experiences, safety, and operational efficiency. As AI increasingly permeates our daily lives, the automotive sector stands at the forefront of practical implementation — driven by a fundamental shift in vehicle architecture from distributed computing toward Zonal architecture and Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV) enabling next-generation advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) applications.

Key topics include:

• The Edge AI Advantage: How processing data locally rather than relying on cloud connectivity enables split-second decision making critical for safety applications while enhancing privacy protection, reducing bandwidth needs, and lowering power consumption — capabilities that are further amplified by the consolidation of compute in modern Zonal and SDV architectures.
• Evolving Vehicle Architecture: The industry's transition from traditional distributed Electronic Control Unit (ECU) architectures to Zonal computing and Software-Defined Vehicles, and how this transformation unlocks new levels of integration, scalability, and over-the-air updatability — creating the ideal foundation for edge AI deployment at scale.
• Transformative Applications: From object detection, lane-keeping assistance, traffic recognition and gesture recognition to personalized user entertainment systems, edge AI brings safer and more enjoyable ride experiences to drivers and passengers.
• Safety-Critical Innovation: The essential role of determinism and predictability in automotive AI, adherence to ISO 26262 and ISO/PAS 21448 standards, and implementation of safety envelopes and runtime monitors to ensure reliable performance across both ADAS and SDV platforms.
• Next-Generation Capabilities:
  • LLM-equipped infotainment systems that revolutionize vehicle-passenger communication
  • Machine learning-enhanced sensors that improve accuracy while reducing calibration requirements
  • Advanced camera systems with intelligent sentry modes and authentication features
  • Multi-modal sensor-fusion systems with improved confidence estimation and context recognition

Attendees will gain strategic understanding of how edge AI technology — anchored in the transition to Zonal and SDV architecture creates competitive advantages while addressing the industry's pressing challenges in safety, security, and meeting evolving consumer expectations.

An inside look at how the company is reinventing itself for a software-defined future, and why it matters far beyond the automotive industry.

At a time when technology is often used to impress, Volvo Cars is taking a different path: deploying software, AI and advanced computing with a clear purpose - to make people safer and improve quality of life. This philosophy has driven a deep transformation of the company, from its core vehicle architecture to how it builds and scales software.

Thanks to Volvo Cars scalable product architecture (SPA3), next-generation core compute, and a full stack software capabilities, it can improve nearly everything you can think of in the car with software, such as increasing charging speeds or introducing new safety features. 

By advancing embodied AI, Volvo Cars enables vehicles to learn from real-world experience and share those insights across the fleet, turning every mile driven into a continuous improvement in safety.

And by investing in in-house software development, AI capabilities and scalable platforms, Volvo Cars is taking greater control over its technology stack, that was developed in Sweden, to ensure resilience, security and long-term innovation in a rapidly changing global landscape.

Join Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars for an inside perspective on the architectural decisions, breakthroughs and cultural changes that are enabling Volvo Cars to lead in the software-defined era.

The automotive industry is at an inflection point. As consumer expectations evolve and innovation cycles accelerate, value is no longer created by isolated features and technologies, but by how seamlessly systems come together to create meaningful, intuitive experiences.

HARMAN sees this shift clearly: from components to orchestration, from features to coherence, and from technical capability to user relevance. The emergence of AI, central compute, and connected ecosystems is unlocking new possibilities. At the same time, consumer speed has become the new baseline.

Continuous improvement is no longer optional, and traditional development approaches struggle to keep pace with experience-driven competition.

Against this backdrop, a new paradigm is taking shape – one where cross-domain integration, context awareness, and lifecycle-ready software ecosystems define success. 

The question is no longer what can be built, but how intelligently it can be combined to create trust, relevance, and continuity for the user.

HARMAN’s perspective points toward a future where differentiation is achieved through experiences at speed and scale.

As the Chinese automotive industry enters its third decade of the 21st century, the sector is transitioning from a period of high-speed expansion into a strategic "slow growth" phase characterized by profound structural transformation. Having witnessed annual sales volumes surpass the 30-million-unit milestone in 2024， and export volumes rise to 7 million, the number 1 of world, it is clear that China has evolved into a primary architect of the global mobility future.

This presentation explores how the convergence of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) and Autonomous Driving is redefining the industrial core. With NEVs now overtaking 50+% market share in China and consumers exhibiting significantly higher confidence in autonomous driving than their global counterparts, we are accelerating the shift from rule-based engineering to data-driven, AI-powered intelligence.

The true "battle for sovereignty," however, lies within the semiconductor. As EE architectures evolve from distributed ECUs toward central computing platform, the demand for high-performance, high-reliability chips has become a matter of strategic necessity. While significant domestic breakthroughs have been achieved in power electronics, MCUs, and SoCs, we must candidly address the supply chain risks in upstream EDA tools, core IPs, and advanced manufacturing.

The roadmap for China to achieve true semiconductor sovereignty by 2035, targeting computing power exceeding 3000 TOPS and supporting L5 full-scenario integration. To succeed, we must move beyond traditional supplier-buyer relationships and embrace a "Virtual IDM" model—an integrated ecosystem where OEMs and chip designers co-create the silicon that will power the next generation of smart mobility.

For the past few decades, the automotive industry has steadily advanced E/E architectures, culminating in today's incredibly powerful Software-Defined Vehicles. As we enter the AI era, automakers have an unprecedented opportunity to multiply returns on their hardware investments and deliver highly integrated driving experiences. Today’s drivers seek more than a touchscreen; they want an intelligent, conversational partner that understands them and naturally anticipates the real world, seamlessly offloading the complex "math of the drive."

In this keynote, Jorgen Behrens explores how Google is translating its latest consumer innovations into an automotive-grade engineering reality. From natural conversational assistance, to immersive 3D spatial intelligence, to deeply integrated lane-level guidance and energy modeling, Jorgen will demonstrate how the map and the machine now work as one. Underscoring Google’s commitment as a long-term partner that prioritizes OEM choice and brand sovereignty, he will share how this collaborative intelligence allows automakers to accelerate SDV innovation, reduce development burdens, and deliver the ultimate luxury: a truly effortless journey.

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the boundaries of the automotive industry. In this presentation, we will share Li Auto's new strategic vision of moving beyond the definition of a traditional automaker to become an "embodied AI enterprise." We believe in "tech equality," and we want to use AI at scale to bring high-quality experiences—like having a private driver or butler—to everyone, not just a select few.

To make this happen, we will show how we are rethinking the smart vehicle from the ground up, turning it into a "silicon-based lifeform." We will explore our latest practices and potential pathways in hardware-software co-design, detailing exactly how we are building a complete life system for this "silicon-based being": a stronger "heart"—the M100 chip; sharper "eyes"—the 3DViT model; a smarter "brain" — the MindVLA 2.0 model; more agile "hands and feet"—the x-by-wire chassis; and a more sophisticated "vascular system"—the Li Auto Halo OS.

Ultimately, all technological evolution serves the human experience. Through a video, we will showcase the latest capabilities of our next-generation Livis, allowing you to witness how our technology is redefining the user experience.

Key Takeaways for the Audience:

• Our Strategic Evolution
• The "Silicon-Based Lifeform" AI Architecture
• Core Technologies
• The Redefined User Experience with Livis 

Balancing intelligence, safety and scalability across the vehicle lifecycle

Edge AI is rapidly transforming the vehicle into a dynamic, self-optimizing system, a device far beyond its traditional role as a mode of transport. From predictive maintenance and adaptive safety to personalized driving dynamics and powertrain efficiency, intelligence at the edge is redefining how vehicles perform, respond, and evolve. Unlocking the potential within today’s complex electrical/electronic architectures (EEA) demands a new level of precision, balancing compute resources, system reliability, and lifecycle scalability across ever-consolidating platforms. 

This presentation outlines the architectural approaches for deploying AI models across general-purpose ECUs, gateways, and domain controllers within consolidated compute environments. It addresses key considerations for balancing AI and non-AI workloads, ensuring functional safety, and maintaining cost efficiency. Attendees will gain an understanding of toolchains and system-level strategies that support dynamic, updatable AI while aligning with automotive-grade reliability and regulatory standards, all illustrated by tangible in-vehicle AI use cases.