The 9th Intelligent Driving & Overseas Expansion Conference 2026 was grandly held in Shanghai on June 17, 2026. Ahmed Irathni, Head of Autonomous and Commercial Mobility, AUMOVIO, was invited to attend and deliver a keynote speech titled  From Trust to Operations—All-Conditions Perception Enabling Advanced Intelligent Driving.

Ahmed Irathni pointed out that the core challenge for the large-scale commercialization of high-level intelligent driving lies not in algorithms or computing power per se, but in the sustained stability of perception hardware throughout the vehicle’s full lifecycle while balancing safety and performance. He emphasized that when a driving system achieves sufficient reliability such that users perceive no risk of malfunctions, this "uneventful performance" is precisely the embodiment of ultimate safety. To establish such trust, development must start with fundamental hardware components including radars and cameras. Reliable product quality, innovative perception capabilities, and a global service network are required to support the safe operation of autonomous driving ranging from L2 to L4 across all climates and driving scenarios.

Ahmed Irathni | Head of Autonomous and Commercial Mobility China，AUMOVIO

Rapid Evolution of Intelligent Driving:

Uncompromised Safety and Trust

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

Over the past four years, China’s intelligent driving market has undergone iterations at an impressive pace. L2-level driver assistance systems achieved large-scale penetration in the mass market in 2023; urban navigation-assisted driving was rolled out and end-to-end solutions entered mass production in 2024; and high-level intelligent driving features expanded to entry-level vehicle models in 2025, kicking off the commercialization of L3 and L4 autonomous driving. Entering 2026, L2 systems have become standard vehicle configurations regulated by newly implemented national standards. The installation rate of urban and highway navigation-assisted driving keeps rising, and the arrival of L3 and even L4 driving technology is drawing near.

While such rapid progress is encouraging, the large-scale deployment of automated driving functions calls for unwavering adherence to one core bottom line: driving safety. The autonomous driving systems developed by AUMOVIO are designed not only to deliver smooth rides under clear weather conditions, but also to guarantee safety throughout all kinds of extreme operating scenarios, including rain, snow, heavy fog, and drastic light transitions inside tunnels. This requires the complete system, software algorithms and AI models to maintain long-term stable availability. Instead of merely performing flawlessly in short-term demonstrations at auto shows, the technology must remain reliable over months or even years of service life. This embodies the true meaning of "trust".

Perception Hardware: The Cornerstone of Trust in Intelligent Driving

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

To build such trust, AUMOVIO starts with seemingly "unremarkable" hardware components. While flagship functions including urban navigation driving, highway navigation driving and automatic parking rely heavily on software and AI algorithms, perception hardware — radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors — remains the foundation of the entire intelligent driving system. They serve as the vehicle’s "eyes and ears", supplying all raw input data for upper-layer algorithms. If hardware malfunctions, delivers blurry imagery or breaks down under harsh weather conditions, even the most advanced computing chips and algorithms cannot compensate for such defects.

AUMOVIO’s product portfolio does not aim to cover every segment indiscriminately. Instead, the company focuses on core tracks, equipping vehicles with perception hardware meeting high safety standards and refining products thoroughly for each autonomous driving level and application scenario. Take Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) as an example. Conventional industry solutions adopt either monocular cameras or a camera-radar fusion scheme. Through substantial R&D investment to boost product performance and reliability, AUMOVIO has developed a solution that can independently satisfy national standards for AEB with a single radar, eliminating reliance on cameras. This solution has entered mass production and vehicle deployment. This represents the product trust that AUMOVIO keeps building: while maintaining cost competitiveness, every radar and camera delivers stable reliability, superior performance and long-term quality control.

Monocular Cameras: Balancing Foundational Quality and AI Innovation

Cameras act as the visual eyes of vehicles. Just as a broken steering wheel will inevitably lead to collisions no matter how skilled the driver is, malfunctions or blurred vision of cameras cannot be offset by upper-level algorithms. Therefore, the reliability of hardware components stands as the primary threshold for building user trust. Amid cutthroat competition across the industry, cost reduction and rapid iteration are undoubtedly important, yet safety always takes top priority. Product quality must never be compromised to cut costs.

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

AUMOVIO monocular camera product line has recorded a cumulative global shipment volume exceeding 50 million units, with an after-sales failure rate lower than 2 parts per million — fewer than 25 units returned for after-sales service out of 50 million products. Such quality metrics form the bedrock of customer trust.

Beyond the basic hardware performance, AUMOVIO simultaneously delves deep into image signal processing optimization and functional innovation. Equipped with built-in AI algorithms, AUMOVIO cameras deliver drastically improved imaging performance under low-light conditions. Vehicle headlights provide auxiliary illumination during regular driving, but for L3 and L4 high-level autonomous driving, AUMOVIO must account for extreme failure scenarios where headlights stop working entirely. Under such circumstances, the AI night vision enhancement function serves as a critical safety fallback. Likewise, crisp low-light imaging greatly boosts parking accuracy and safety in automatic parking scenarios. Such hardware-based AI innovations represent more than functional upgrades; they empower safety through technological breakthroughs and solidify product trust.

Radar Technology: From Core Detection to Expanded Parking Scenarios

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

Millimeter-wave radar constitutes AUMOVIO’s core technological foundation. Two years ago, AUMOVIO’s global cumulative installation volume of millimeter-wave radars surpassed 200 million units, and the figure has now reached 230 million units, securing the company the top global ranking in shipment volume. Nevertheless, sheer shipment scale never equates to core competitiveness. What truly builds customer trust lies in the radar’s reliability, imaging performance and quality control standards. As autonomous driving levels keep advancing, the industry’s requirements for radar detection capabilities and imaging precision are continuously raised.

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

National standard specifications for L2 cover numerous extreme driving scenarios, with tunnel passage as a typical working condition. When vehicles enter tunnels, the external strong light abruptly shifts to dark surroundings, rendering cameras temporarily ineffective. Only radars and LiDAR can continuously and stably detect preceding vehicles and obstacles at this moment, and radar detection performance directly determines driving safety.

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

In the field of forward-facing radars, AUMOVIO has launched a high-bandwidth imaging mode that refines the dot matrix of radar point cloud imaging. Leveraging this mode, AUMOVIO has developed a radar-only parking solution. The imaging effect displayed on the left side of the video comes from radar rather than LiDAR. The radar point cloud generated by the high-bandwidth mode can accurately identify surrounding vehicles, confirm vacant parking spaces, and deliver elevation detection capability. Conventional ultrasonic sensors fail to detect elevation-bearing objects such as wall protrusions and suspended obstacles, which easily lead to scratches and collisions. Radars equipped with the high-bandwidth mode can precisely capture three-dimensional elevated obstacles to enable safe parking. Even though parking accidents rarely result in casualties, the safety bottom line and product trust cannot be taken lightly.

AUMOVIO does not position high performance as a justification for high product pricing. Some of its products are priced only slightly higher than competitors, yet they can consistently maintain performance and quality throughout the vehicle’s full lifecycle, delivering far greater long-term value than low-cost, low-quality alternatives. Technological innovations in radar are designed to further expand safety application scenarios and strengthen performance reliability.

Global Footprint to Safeguard Chinese OEMs’ Overseas Expansion

Chinese domestic vehicle brands are accelerating their global expansion at present, yet they face multiple challenges across regional markets: stark disparities in driving habits, safety standards and functional safety regulations worldwide, coupled with frequent fluctuations in global supply chains. These hurdles can be efficiently resolved by partnering with a component supplier boasting a global industrial layout and proven track record of project rollouts across multiple countries.

Take an example. If One Chinese OEM manufactures vehicles in China for export to Europe, AUMOVIO can supply a full suite of perception hardware including radars and cameras locally in China to support vehicle exports. If Chinese OEM sets up manufacturing plants in Europe for localized production, AUMOVIO also features local European production and delivery capacity to supply identical products. Such flexible global supply capabilities fully empower Chinese automakers to advance their overseas strategies.

Image source: Materials provided by the speaker

To be legally sold and installed on vehicles in multiple countries, all hardware products must pass regulatory certifications and complete localized compliance adaptation — a mandatory prerequisite for safe commercial deployment. Furthermore, a worldwide after-sales maintenance network is critical to sustaining customer trust should product failures occur after vehicles are delivered to end users. AUMOVIO delivers unified global services covering warranty returns, replacements and fault maintenance.

At its core, trust means hardware components consistently meet safety standards and deliver high performance reliably throughout a vehicle’s full lifecycle. Only the long-term coexistence of these two attributes can offer users a worry-free driving experience free of hidden risks. AUMOVIO specializes in developing stable, dependable safety technologies centered on fundamental perception hardware.

About AUMOVIO

In September 2025, AUMOVIO emerged as a spin-off from Continental’s former Automotive group sector and has since established itself as an independent technology company. The company offers a broad portfolio for safe, exciting, connected and autonomous mobility, including sensor solutions, displays, brake and comfort systems as well as extensive expertise in software, architecture platforms and advanced driver assistance systems for software-defined vehicles. In fiscal year 2025, AUMOVIO generated sales of € 18.5 billion. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, AUMOVIO has around 82,000 employees at more than 80 locations worldwide.

AUMOVIO China builds on the legacy of Continental’s Automotive group sector, which entered the Chinese market in 1994. With more than three decades of extensive experience in the Chinese automotive industry, AUMOVIO China is committed to drive the automotive industry transformation and high-quality development through innovative technologies. Leveraging its long-established local R&D capabilities, a smart production and manufacturing network, and a comprehensive localized value chain, AUMOVIO China provides tailored system solutions to global OEMS, delivering swift and precise responses to the market’s diverse and evolving demands.  AUMOVIO China operates 12 production sites and 5 R&D centers in China, with a workforce of around 9,500 employees (as of March 2026).

(The above content is excerpted from the keynote speech From Trust to Operational Readiness: Full-Working-Condition Perception Enables Mass Rollout of High-Level Intelligent Driving, delivered by Mr. Ahmed Irathni, Head of China, Autonomous Driving & Mobility Business Group of AUMOVIO, at the 9th Intelligent Driving & Overseas Expansion Conference held on June 17, 2026.)