Markus Heyn, Chairman of Bosch Mobility, presenting the company’s integrated strategy—intelligent driving, vehicle motion control,
and smart cabin—at the Bosch booth, Auto China 2026.

Bosch did not simply observe China’s speed from a distance. It chose to enter that speed—developing, testing, and learning from within. Yet fast execution does not mean skipping validation. Even as Bosch pursues Level 3 autonomous driving in China first, it holds firm to the essentials of a Tier 1: safety, accountability, and system-level verification. Expanding globally what it learns in China is the clearest expression of that strategy.

By Sang Min Han _  han@autoelectronics.co.kr
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“This is not the distant future. It is becoming reality, fast.”

April 24, Auto China, Bosch booth. Markus Heyn, Chairman of Bosch Mobility, pulled up a scene on the screen. A driver heading out on vacation. The car navigates city traffic on its own. The system quietly handles an icy mountain pass. Only in the final stretch does the driver reach for the wheel again.
Wuxi is where that reality begins. Heyn declared: “A new era of software- and AI-driven mobility has arrived. What we develop and learn in China, we will scale globally.”
The question is this: what is Bosch proving first in China—and where does it intend to take it?



Level 3: Two Tracks Running in Parallel

Bosch’s autonomous driving strategy currently runs on two parallel tracks. The first is an E2E production track already in the market. It is deployed in the Chery Exeed Sterra ET and Exlantix ES. From November last year, Bosch’s system ranked first across four consecutive cities in China’s intelligent driving competition: Taizhou, Wenzhou, Jinhua, and Wuhu. Bosch calls this system ‘1-Stage E2E’—a structure that links perception, planning, and execution in a single loop, with one model handling everything from dense traffic to sudden obstacles.
The second track is Level 3. In March 2026, Bosch became the first global Tier 1 to receive a license for real-world Level 3 autonomous driving tests in Wuxi, China. The system supports automated lane changes and navigation-guided driving on highways and urban expressways, at speeds up to 120 km/h and in visibility conditions of 300 meters or more.
Level 3. The domain where responsibility begins—for the first time—to transfer to the vehicle.
“We apply AI across every software component and combine it with a redundant safety architecture. Our understanding of all vehicle domains makes us the ideal partner for scaling Level 3 into production,” said Heyn.
The architecture behind this system contains a notable design choice. The Level 3 system runs two independent paths simultaneously—one using production-grade Level 2 software, the other prepared for Level 4. If only identical systems are stacked for redundancy, they may fail in the same way at the same moment. True safety redundancy requires dissimilar redundancy. And because Level 2 software is reused, the structure also offers cost advantages.
E2E production builds the market. Level 3 validation prepares the next generation. While both tracks run in parallel, Bosch is accumulating layers of data and verification.



The Bosch booth at Auto China 2026. Crowds gathered throughout the exhibition.



AI Enters—but Must Remain Traceable

Asked what the most significant change in the Chinese market is right now, Bosch answers with breadth before speed. ADAS solutions that cover every vehicle segment from entry-level to premium, and development optimized for local conditions. Last year, roughly two-thirds of new passenger cars sold in China came equipped with a Level 2 driver assistance system. Bosch is already among the leaders in that market.
And AI is changing how it all works. It understands scenes and interprets context. With AI applied to environmental perception and driving trajectory planning, the vehicle thinks ahead—anticipating how other road users will behave and calculating the next steps toward a safe arrival. From perception to planning, AI has entered the entire pipeline.
But Bosch holds to a principle. Even as generative AI accelerates training and cuts costs, Bosch emphasizes that “validation methods such as real-world testing and data-driven verification will continue to be important.”
This principle did not appear overnight. At The Autonomous conference last year, Bosch CTO Matthias Pillin stated: “When problems arise on real roads, you must be able to trace, verify, and obtain formal approval safely—and that requires structure.” E2E, yes. Black box, no.
The same logic explains why redundancy and multi-layer security design matter at Level 3. As AI takes on more of the decision-making, the layers that verify those decisions must grow thicker. This stance sets Bosch apart from Chinese autonomous driving startups that place loop-shortening via foundation models at the center of their competitiveness. Bosch uses AI as a tool to accelerate learning—while refusing to relinquish the structures that keep decisions traceable and verifiable. As more judgment transfers to AI, the demand to track those judgments only grows stronger.




The Brake-by-Wire display at the Bosch booth. The screen showed test footage from icy road conditions.



No By-Wire, No Level 3

Level 3 cannot be completed by software alone. The path from AI judgment to physical execution must be trustworthy. That is why Bosch placed by-wire technologies alongside Level 3 at the front of its Auto China presentation.
Brake-by-Wire pairs a newly developed brake actuator with a conventional ESP system in a dual structure. The mechanical link between pedal and wheel disappears; electronic signals take its place. Bosch has already signed supply contracts with five manufacturers, with passenger car production starting in mid-2026. From 2027, it will also enter robotaxi platforms. Steer-by-Wire enters volume production on multiple platforms in the Chinese market this year. Soft and comfortable when parking, sporty on winding roads—software adjusts the steering ratio in real time.
Above all this sits Vehicle Motion Management (VMM), which integrates braking, steering, powertrain, and suspension under software control across more than 100 functions. The most concrete example is Autonomous Emergency Steering (AES). When sudden obstacles leave insufficient braking distance, the system identifies the risk, calculates the optimal evasive path, and simultaneously controls brakes and steering to maintain vehicle stability—even on icy roads. The time it took Bosch and a Chinese OEM to bring this function to production readiness: six months.
Bosch said: “Things get really exciting when you combine VMM with intelligent driver assistance systems.” In the SDV era, the integration of autonomous driving software and vehicle motion control has already begun. Not a competition between individual functions—but a competition in system integration. That is how Bosch defines itself.



China First, Then the World

Bosch Mobility’s China sales in 2025 reached 122.3 billion yuan—approximately 15.1 billion euros—up 4.9 percent year on year. More than half of that revenue came from Chinese vehicle manufacturers. Bosch supported 300 overseas expansion models for Chinese brands. Its eAxle was developed and produced in China first, then transferred to Asia and Europe.
Bosch acknowledged: “The pace of development cycles is also accelerating. AI is making a significant contribution to becoming faster and more efficient.” China’s speed is something Bosch cannot avoid. But what Bosch holds onto within that speed is verification and accountability.
E2E autonomous driving is following the same path. The 1-Stage E2E system developed in China crossed over to Germany last year, underwent a few hundred hours of training, and was demonstrated at IAA. For Bosch, China is not a test bed—it is a source of innovation.
“Customer interest in highly automated driving functions is particularly high in China. Other markets are currently still more cautious,” said Heyn. China opens first. Bosch takes what it builds there and brings it to the world. “We can transfer knowledge from one market to another. Our aim is to be the preferred partner for Chinese and Western manufacturers alike.”
Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH, framed it in a single line at the same venue: “The future belongs to those like us who can adapt their portfolios and supply chains to regional conditions—and at the same time deliver world-class quality.”
The cars of the future will be more technologically sophisticated—and that favors companies with the strength to connect mechanics, electronics, and software into a single intelligent system. Bosch has stepped into the center of China’s AI ecosystem—with its own sensors, its own algorithms, its own validation, its own chassis technology intact. It is becoming a layer above the platform, while simultaneously trying to define, on its own terms, how far that layer extends in responsibility. That is what Bosch is doing in China, right now.

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