Zozogo Auto Research has released the report "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026".
The domestic passenger vehicle market has completely ended its incremental expansion cycle and entered a stage of mature market competition. From 2020 to 2025, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of domestic passenger vehicle sales was only 2.34%. The share of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles has continued to shrink, while industry price wars have become normalized and involution has intensified. The increasingly saturated domestic market can no longer simultaneously support the large-scale capacity release of automakers and the long-term high investment in intelligentization, making the industry's growth ceiling clearly visible.
In stark contrast to the sluggish growth of the domestic market, China's automobile exports have achieved explosive growth, upgrading from a supplementary business in the past to the second core fundamental base. Domestic complete vehicle exports surged from less than 1 million units in 2020 to 7.098 million units in 2025, a 7-fold increase in scale in just six years; the export penetration rate climbed significantly from 3.9% to 20.6%, with the export business achieving a CAGR of up to 48.14%. Overseas markets have become the core engine supporting the scale expansion and continued growth of Chinese automakers.
Trends in China's Domestic Automobile Sales and Complete Vehicle Exports from 2020 to 2025
Source: Zozogo Auto Research "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026"
From a global industry perspective, the next 3-5 years represent a critical window for reshaping the landscape of global automakers and solidifying the tiers of capacity and brands. Changan Automobile forecasts that the global automobile market size is expected to exceed 100 million units by 2030, with the new energy vehicle (NEV) penetration rate rising to 45%. The Matthew effect in the industry will continue to strengthen, and competition thresholds will accelerate upward, forming clear survival tiers: annual sales of 3-3.5 million units as the basic survival line, 5-7 million units possessing stable operational capabilities, and 8-10 million units capable of building global-level competitive barriers.
Relying solely on the domestic market is no longer sufficient to meet the industry's survival threshold; global expansion has upgraded from an "incremental choice" to the "core growth line in the second half of the automakers' race". Leading automakers are comprehensively switching their development logic, accelerating the iteration from a "domestic-focused, radiating overseas" model to fully-fledged globalized groups with global R&D, manufacturing, channel, and brand capabilities.
Multiple domestic OEMs have upgraded their strategic anchor points: from a domestic market focus + radiating overseas → accelerating the transformation into globalized automotive groups equipped with global R&D, manufacturing, channel, and brand systems (2026-2030).
BYD is anchored on the goal of becoming a global scale leader, planning to exceed 5 million units in global sales in 2026 (with over 1.5 million units overseas), surge to 6 million units and a global market share of over 10% in 2027, and consolidate and expand its leading position as the world's top seller of NEVs in 2030.
Dongfeng Motor will release the "Setting Sail to the Horizon" globalization plan in 2026, promoting the global expansion of the entire value chain with hundreds of billions in resource investment. Following the three-step path of "products going out—capacity going in—industry going up", it aims for 5 million units in annual global sales by 2030, with NEVs accounting for over 70% and overseas sales reaching 40%.
Changan Automobile has upgraded its "Rivers Run into the Sea Plan 2.0", promoting a deep leap in going global from "product trade" to "industrial rooting", achieving a strategic transformation from complete vehicle exports to a globalized automotive group. It strives to enter the top ten global automakers by 2030, with global sales exceeding 5 million units, an overseas sales target of 1.5 million units and a striving target of 1.8 million units, and building an overseas capacity system of 800,000 units.
The Transformation into Globalized Operations Has Become a Strategic Choice for Automakers Concerning Survival and the Future
Source: Zozogo Auto Research "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026"
Domestic Intelligent Driving Enters a Stage of Fierce Competition, Forcing Global Technology Spillover
The domestic intelligent driving industry is rapidly popularizing, and the market is swiftly shifting from incremental penetration to mature market competition. The fiercely competitive landscape has become one of the core driving forces for automakers to layout broader overseas markets. Today, intelligentization has become a standard feature for passenger vehicles, completely bidding farewell to its optional configuration attribute.
Data shows that the market structure has undergone a fundamental shift: the share of non-assisted driving (NL) models plummeted from 49.6% in 2022 to 21.8% in Q1 2026; during the same period, the penetration rate of L2 and above intelligent driving models climbed from 34.7% to 69.8%. Among them, basic L2 ADAS has become the fundamental market base, while advanced functions such as highway NOA and city NOA have become the only high-growth segment in the track since 2024.
Currently, competition in the domestic intelligent driving market across all price segments has approached saturation. Specifically, the penetration rate of L2 and above intelligent driving functions in high-end models priced above 200,000 RMB has reached as high as 80%-90%, and the penetration rate in mainstream models priced between 100,000 and 200,000 RMB has exceeded 60%-70%; meanwhile, advanced technologies continue to trickle down, with the intelligent driving penetration rate in entry-level models priced between 0 and 100,000 RMB increasing from 1.6% in 2022 to 16.7% in Q1 2026. With the narrowing growth space and compressing profit margins for domestic intelligent driving, technology going global and capability spillover have become inevitable industry trends.
Comparison of Penetration Rates of L2 and Above Intelligent Driving Capability Models in Various Price Segments for Domestic Passenger Vehicles in China from 2022 to Q1 2026
Source: Zozogo Auto Research Database
Core Barriers Highlighted: China's Intelligent Driving Forms a Dual Generational Gap in Technology and Industrial Chain, Possessing Global Output Capability
Compared to the European, American, Japanese, and Korean markets, China's intelligent driving industry has established a triple generational gap advantage in technical architecture, engineering implementation, and full-chain supply chain, making it one of the few core domestic industries capable of delivering an asymmetric technological advantage to overseas markets.
01. Generational Gap in Technical Architecture: Mapless End-to-End Large Models Achieve Paradigm Leadership
The popularization speed and iteration pace of advanced intelligent driving in China significantly lead the world. The industry has fully switched to the mapless end-to-end large model architecture, completely breaking away from the reliance on high-definition maps and achieving a technical closed-loop of low cost, strong generalization, and fast iteration; whereas mainstream European and American automakers still adhere to the traditional map-reliant architecture, with significantly lagging iteration efficiency and scenario adaptability. Currently, flagship models from XPeng, Li Auto, and AITO all come standard with mapless NOA. Huawei stated that as of April 20, 2026, the total driving mileage of ADS Qiankun has officially exceeded 10 billion kilometers. With the increase in vehicle sales, the total mileage continues to surge, and the algorithm maintains high-frequency weekly iterations, forming a dual advantage in implementation efficiency and cost control.
02. Generational Gap in Industrial Chain: Fully Autonomous and Controllable Across the Entire Chain, Building a Scale Cost Barrier
China is the only country in the world with a complete intelligent driving industrial chain encompassing "sensors—automotive chips—domain controllers—algorithms—simulation and annotation—complete vehicle integration", featuring short technology implementation cycles, high industrialization efficiency, and globally unique scale cost advantages. Core hardware has achieved leapfrog cost reduction: LiDAR prices have plummeted from the early level of 200,000 RMB to the mass production level of thousands of RMB, and intelligent driving domain controllers have simultaneously entered the thousand-RMB cost range. Overseas automakers' advanced intelligent driving layouts highly rely on the Chinese supply chain, further consolidating the irreplaceable globalized industrial barrier of China's intelligent driving.
Through in-depth research on the overseas layouts and strategic plans of 10 OEMs and 7 intelligent driving ADAS Tier 1 suppliers, as well as the intelligent driving configurations of over 20 representative models exported to major markets such as Europe, ASEAN, Latin America, the Middle East, and Australia & New Zealand, Zozogo Auto Research has distilled four major insights.
Insight 1: L2+ (LCA, excluding NOA) Becomes the Mainstream Standard for Intelligent Driving Going Global, with Hardware Strategies Diverging into "Volume-Driven" and "High-End Pre-installation" Dual Routes
Based on the configuration breakdown of over 20 mainstream exported models: the L2+ system with LCA active lane change has become the core intelligent configuration for going global, accounting for more than half, and is the main force for differentiated competition in the ASEAN market; basic L2 ADAS serves as a cost-effective fallback solution; L1-level assisted driving is only deployed in small quantities in the low-end South American market, overall presenting a layered strategy of "high configuration in ASEAN, mainstream L2 for volume, and minimalist low configuration in South America".
From the perspective of product competition logic, L1 functions have weak value and insufficient differentiation, while overseas competitors have generally made L1 standard. Chinese exported models take L2+ (here, L2+ refers only to models that add LCA on the basis of L2 ADAS, excluding NOA) as the mainstream threshold. Against the backdrop of increasingly homogenized basic ADAS overseas, LCA achieves an experience leap at an extremely low marginal cost, becoming the core grip for brand premium, while simultaneously pre-installing the hardware foundation for future NOA upgrades.
Benchmarking of Intelligent Driving Configurations of Representative Models from Independent Brands in Core Overseas Regions from 2025 to 2026
Source: Zozogo Auto Research Overseas Database
Against this backdrop, domestic OEMs have formed two distinctly different intelligent driving hardware strategies for going global:
Model 1: Lightweight ADAS First, Advanced Functions Later (BYD, Chery, SAIC MG, Leapmotor)
Mainstream volume-driven brands adopt a pragmatic strategy of "low-cost positioning and progressive upgrading". Exported models come standard with basic L2/L2+ intelligent driving with LCA, temporarily without NOA functions, strictly controlling per-vehicle costs through streamlined hardware, and prioritizing market distribution and user mindshare penetration in overseas markets. Once NOA regulations land in target markets, data compliance closed-loops are established, and scenario adaptation matures, advanced intelligent driving capabilities will be gradually unlocked through iterative models or OTA, maximizing the avoidance of overseas certification risks and early R&D investment pressure, achieving an effective balance between sales volume and profitability.
Model 2: Hardware Pre-installed in One Step, Software Unlocked in Batches via OTA (XPeng)
XPeng adopts a forward-looking high-end layout, with full hardware configuration across all overseas models, without any downgrading between high and low trims. It comes standard with self-developed Turing/NVIDIA Orin high-computing chips, an 800V high-voltage platform, and Qualcomm 8676 cockpit chips, reserving ample computing power and perception redundancy. In the initial stage of model launch, only basic L2+ assisted driving is opened. After completing UN R171 compliance certification, European road testing, and model localization tuning, the VLA 2.0 large model will be pushed via OTA to unlock highway and city full-scenario NOA at once. This model avoids subsequent facelift and repeated certification costs, anchors the overseas high-end intelligent brand positioning with hardware generational gap advantages, jumps out of price involution, and builds long-term barriers in software iteration and service value-added.
Insight 2: Comprehensive Diversification of Powertrain Architecture, EREV/HEV Becoming the Breakthrough for Overseas Increment in 2026
Pure electric EVs remain the main force for going global, but Chinese automakers' powertrain strategies will adopt a full-domain matrix layout of EV + EREV + PHEV + HEV + ICE, precisely adapting to the differentiated global market environment. In 2025-2026, Leapmotor will launch dual powertrains of pure electric + extended range for going global, and Changan will launch Blue Whale HEV globalized models, making up for overseas product shortcomings through hybrid powertrains.
The diversification of powertrains for going global is the inevitable result of triple drivers: demand, cost, and policy. On the consumer end, pure electric vehicles are still constrained by infrastructure, low temperatures, and long-distance range, whereas hybrids offer zero anxiety, low fuel consumption, and adaptability to all scenarios; on the enterprise end, hybrids rely on traditional chassis architectures, resulting in lower marginal costs and stronger profitability; on the policy end, multiple countries are slowing down the pace of banning ICE vehicles, creating a long-term window for hybrid models to go global. With the completion of the hybrid matrix, Chinese automakers can cover global markets with different infrastructures, policies, and consumer purchasing powers.
In 2026, Changan Launches the First Batch of Globalized Blue Whale Super Engine Models
Source: Zozogo Auto Research "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026"
Insight 3: UN R171 S02 Ends the Gray Area of Overseas Intelligent Driving, 2027 Becomes the Turning Point for Global NOA Commercialization
In June 2026, the WP.29 plenary session passed UN R171 Series 02, the world's first mandatory international regulation for city NOA officially landed. It adds a full set of DCAS specifications for automatic lane changing in cities, roundabout navigation, and urban navigation assistance, and will take mandatory effect in the EU by the end of 2026. The new regulation recognizes the legal commercial status of city NOA at the international rules level for the first time, thoroughly ending the gray state of "no laws to follow and functions locked" in overseas advanced intelligent driving for many years.
Previously, due to the global gap in advanced intelligent driving regulations, domestic exported models generally stripped the NOA functions, retaining only basic ADAS. With the landing of R171 S02, the industry will form a clear layered approach: basic L2 ADAS for volume and sinking markets, and certified full-scenario NOA for creating high-end premiums. 2027 will become a critical turning point for the scaled commercialization of global advanced intelligent driving.
Global Automakers Synchronize to Seize the 2027 NOA Window
XPeng adopts a strategy of "technology first, waiting for regulations to open the door", launching European road testing in Q4 2026 and completing the global delivery of the second-generation VLA in 2027. Relying on the technical foundation adapted to the new regulations in advance, it achieves the overseas landing of full-fledged city NOA.
Mercedes-Benz plans to launch MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO by the end of 2026, officially entering the city NOA track. It will initially land in core German cities and roll out across all regions in 2027. Based on the Orin high-computing platform, it achieves complex urban navigation assistance, marking the comprehensive entry of European luxury brands into the competition for advanced urban assisted navigation.
Tesla continues to accelerate the global landing of FSD in 2025-2026, consolidating its overseas intelligent driving fundamental base relying on full-domain data iteration.
FSD Global Landing Timeline
Source: Zozogo Auto Research "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026"
Insight 4: Intelligent Driving Going Global Shifts from 1.0 Product Trade to the 2.0 Era of Localized Systematic Rooting
Traditional 1.0 intelligent driving going global belongs to the one-way trade model: finalized domestically, sold overseas, and ends upon delivery, with no continuous iteration, no local adaptation, and no compliance closed-loop. However, city NOA is a technology strongly bound to scenarios, regulations, and data, which cannot be standardized and plug-and-play. Simple product exports can no longer support the landing of advanced intelligent driving.
The industry has officially entered the 2.0 rooted going global stage, extending product content from "hardware products" to "software + services + solutions". It core relies on three major localized capabilities: local R&D organizations, full-chain data closed-loops, and the construction of localized technical O&M and intelligent driving infrastructure.
Among them, data localization is the rigid bottom line for EU compliance: the GDPR and WP29 systems strictly prohibit cross-border data repatriation for training. Meanwhile, European road rights, road signs, and mixed traffic scenarios differ vastly from domestic ones, making it impossible to complete adaptation relying on remote parameter tuning in China. Therefore, building local data centers in Europe and constructing a domestic closed-loop of "collection—annotation—training—iteration" is no longer a bonus for enterprises, but a mandatory prerequisite for the compliant commercialization of advanced intelligent driving overseas. The competition in intelligent driving going global has upgraded from previous product capability competition to systematic competition in overseas R&D ecosystems, data compliance systems, and localized iteration capabilities.
Case Study: Analysis of Zhuoyu Technology's Strategy for Entering the German Intelligent Driving Market
Since 2025, Zhuoyu has fully implemented the "In Europe, for Europe" deep localization strategy, and officially inaugurated its European headquarters in Braunschweig, Germany, in 2026. It has built its own local R&D center and regional testing data center, simultaneously completing the introduction of local talents for R&D, complete vehicle integration, compliance, and business positions, establishing a complete localized operation organization, and adapting to EU regulatory and automaker cooperation requirements from the underlying architecture.
The business side adopts a dual-route parallel going global strategy: first, following the wave of Chinese independent brands going global, providing intelligent driving supporting equipment for exported models of FAW Hongqi, Sinotruk, etc.; currently advancing a commercial vehicle ADAS project for the European market with Sinotruk, with both parties simultaneously planning the landing of localized production lines in Europe. Second, cutting into the supply chain of local European automakers, focusing on designated projects for traditional OEMs such as Volkswagen and BBA. It has now launched the next-generation intelligent driving POC with Volkswagen Group in Europe. The project selects the ID.Buzz as the verification vehicle, equipped with the JiMu 2.0 perception system, ZhiZhou blind-spot radar, and Thor intelligent driving computing platform, adopting an 11V1RSL sensor hardware solution, and completing real-vehicle road tests for highway NOA, city NOA, and automated parking on European public roads; the project is currently in the POC stage, planned to complete verification by the end of 2026, and subsequently advance to mass production designation.
Zhuoyu and Volkswagen Group Launch Next-Generation Intelligent Driving Proof of Concept (POC) Cooperation Locally in Europe
At the level of intelligent driving product landing: Zhuoyu has clarified a clear commercialization priority in the European market: highway NOA prioritized for mass production landing, and regular L2-level ADAS deployed simultaneously as basic supporting equipment. In 2026, the intelligent driving system will iterate to the multimodal unified representation large model MFM. Relying on a single large model to complete unified perception and decision-making of the physical world, it natively supports typical European differentiated scenarios such as highway conditions, urban roads, roundabout navigation, and trams. It can directly match the current regulatory environment for mass production delivery of highway NOA, and also reserve a complete technical foundation for subsequent city NOA commercialization; this model possesses extremely strong cross-regional generalization capabilities, and can seamlessly adapt a single architecture to the European left-hand drive market and right-hand drive regions such as the UK and Australia, achieving global main model reuse.
Zhuoyu Technology's Intelligent Driving Landing Priority in the European Market: Highway NOA (Short-term Mass Production) > L2 Regular ADAS
Source: Zozogo Auto Research "Strategies for OEMs and ADAS Tier 1s to Break Through in Going Global with Intelligent Driving in 2026"
Chinese automakers' intelligent driving going global has completed the logical leap from "passive export" to "proactive globalization strategy". The domestic market's mature involution forces the industry to seek incremental breakthroughs externally. Mature mapless large model technology and a complete industrial chain build a global generational gap advantage. Coupled with the new UN R171 S02 regulation opening the global advanced intelligent driving compliance window, under the resonance of these triple dividends, 2026-2027 will become the year of qualitative change for the globalization of China's intelligent driving. Future industry competition will no longer be a contest of single models and single functions, but a comprehensive system confrontation of globalized product matrices, hardware and software layered strategies, localized R&D ecosystems, and compliant data systems. China's automotive industry will officially move from the "product export era" to the "intelligent technology and industry standard export era", reshaping the global intelligent vehicle competition landscape.
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