Volkswagen to develop own assisted driving chip in China

Shanghai: Germany s Volkswagen said on Wednesday it would develop an in house assisted driving chip for its business in China as it seeks to recover f...

Shanghai: Germany's Volkswagen said on Wednesday it would develop an in-house assisted driving chip for its business in China as it seeks to recover from sagging sales in the world's largest auto market.

Volkswagen is still the leading foreign group operating in China but the auto giant's sales have drooped as local brands rise. It is also seeking to insulate itself from global tensions over semiconductors.

The group announced a series of new electric and hybrid vehicles in April and an assisted driving system designed specifically for the Chinese market in an effort to counter that slide.

"We are accelerating and deepening the implementation of our 'In China, for China' strategy -- moving beyond localised production to mastering the core technologies that shape tomorrow's mobility," Ralf Brandstatter, CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said in a news release on Wednesday.

It is the first time the Volkswagen Group has developed its own in-house chip of this sort, a spokesman said.