Beijing, April 24, 2026 – CARThunder, the joint venture between CARIAD (the automotive software company of the Volkswagen Group) and ThunderSoft, made its debut at the 18th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2026) under the theme of "Pioneering Technology, Empowering Volkswagen." In line with Volkswagen Group's 2026 strategic priorities - delivering the CEA (China Electronic Architecture) for mass production and accelerating Global platform upgrades, CARThunder showcased three production-ready intelligent cockpit solutions covering both Global and China platforms. The company also presented its next-generation autonomous cockpit OS – CART OS – demonstrating CARThunder's technical strength and delivery capability as "The Power of China" within Volkswagen Group's global software system.
In 2025, CARThunder successfully delivered 34 mass-production SOP projects, serving all Volkswagen Group brands including Audi, Porsche, FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen, and Volkswagen Anhui. The achievement validates its E2E capabilities from R&D to large-scale deployment.
Deeply Rooted in China's CEA Architecture: China Speed, For the China Market
In the face of intense competition in China's NEV market, Volkswagen Group is accelerating the rollout of its China-dedicated EE architecture (CEA) to meet the sophisticated demands of Chinese users for intelligent cockpits with greater agility. As a core member of the CEA One Team, CARThunder leverages its deep technical expertise and local advantages to participate in platform definition, underlying development, and application integration. The company provides full-stack software solutions – from operating systems and middleware to upper-level applications – for Volkswagen Anhui, FAW-Volkswagen, and SAIC Volkswagen. CARThunder has played a key role in enabling the timely mass production and successful launch of multiple key models from Volkswagen, supporting the Volkswagen Group in accelerating its intelligent transformation in China.
Empowering Global Platforms: Dual-DNA Advantage Serving Volkswagen's Global Brands
CARThunder has positioned itself as a software service provider for Volkswagen Group since day one, deeply involved in the development, iteration, and maintenance of cockpit software for Volkswagen's Global Platform. It delivers production-ready intelligent cockpit solutions that meet Volkswagen's global standards serving brands such as Audi and Porsche.
At this auto show, CARThunder exhibited its Global platform production cockpit solutions, covering Volkswagen's core global platforms such as MEB, PPE/PPC, and MQB evo. These solutions have been deployed in numerous globally launched models, achieving a leap from China-based R&D to global delivery. This capability stems from CARThunder's unique "dual-DNA" advantage:
Pure Volkswagen DNA: The team is proficient in Volkswagen's development processes, quality standards, production systems, and compliance requirements – every line of code delivered conforms to Volkswagen's global specifications.
Deep-rooted ThunderSoft DNA: Leveraging ThunderSoft's over a decade of intelligent cockpit technology expertise and its global automotive engineer network of over 4,000 professionals, CARThunder possesses large-scale, cross-regional, and highly reliable mass-production delivery capabilities.
Bai Liang, CTO of CARThunder, commented: "Our engineers never confine themselves to lab research. They are always on the front lines of Volkswagen mass production, collaborating with global teams. For CARThunder, the strongest proof of our technology lies in the fact that Volkswagen vehicles worldwide running our software deliver a stable, seamless, and intelligent mobility experience."
Global Premiere of CART OS: Redefine Cockpit Experience with AI Agents – A Technological Leap Built on Production Pedigree
Building on its mass-production and delivery experience across both CEA and Global platforms, CARThunder simultaneously launched CART OS – a next-generation intelligent cockpit technology exploration. Built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Cockpit Elite platform (SA8397), CART OS represents CARThunder's forward-looking technological breakthrough in the AI-driven evolution of intelligent cockpits, grounded in its deep experience serving Volkswagen. Moving beyond the traditional "passive command-response" model of in-vehicle systems, CART OS is architected around a native AI agent framework, evolving from a "vehicle tool" into a "mobility companion." The system enables proactive perception, deep understanding, and autonomous decision-making:
Self-evolving Personalized Services: Equipped with long/short-term memory systems and model distillation technology, CART OS continuously learns user navigation habits, entertainment preferences, and daily routes to deliver a "thousand faces for a thousand users" cockpit experience – getting smarter with every drive.
Proactive Safety & Care: Using visual AI to accurately detect driver fatigue, distraction, and other states, the system adjusts ambient lighting, audio volume, and climate control in real time based on road and vehicle conditions, or issues gentle safety reminders.
Full-Scenario Multimodal Interaction: Deeply integrated voice, vision, touch, and vehicle state sensing, CART OS supports natural interaction methods such as continuous dialogue, gaze wake-up, and gesture control, creating an effortless human-vehicle communication experience.
Mao Feng, CEO of CARThunder, stated on site: "The birth of CART OS is the culmination of CARThunder's deep roots in Volkswagen's mass-production system and its dedicated pursuit of intelligent cockpit technology. It is not a concept detached from reality but a battle-tested achievement honed through mass-production projects and the needs of millions of users. We always put users at the center, ensuring that every technological innovation serves real-world mobility scenarios, redefining the Volkswagen cockpit experience with software."
About CARThunder
CARThunder (Chengdu CARThunder Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.) was founded in September 2023 as a joint venture between ThunderSoft (51% ownership) and CARIAD (49% ownership), the software company of Volkswagen Group.
The company specializes in full-stack intelligent cockpit software development and mass-production delivery. It has a global engineering team of over 500 professionals (95% technical staff). CARThunder has obtained multiple international certifications including TISAX, ISO 21434, and ASPICE CL2, and has delivered cockpit solutions covering multiple Global and China brands within the Volkswagen Group.
