Chinese smart driving company eyes cooperation, expansion in Germany

Chinese intelligent driving company ZYT has opened its European headquarters in Braunschweig, aiming to combine Chinese software expertise with German engineering.

With the new office settled near Volkswagen's Wolfsburg base, ZYT said its future autonomous driving systems will be developed with European partners.

"We are here to actually do engineering. We make good products here, we hire good engineers, we work closely with local partners," said ZYT's CEO Shen Shaojie.

The opening comes as the German auto industry faces growing pressure from global competition and the shift toward software-driven vehicles.

Many believe the future of the sector depends as much on AI and software as traditional engineering.

"Chinese tech companies, especially in the fields of autonomous driving, the development of software-defined vehicles, and digitalization, can certainly be described as pacesetters in the global automotive industry. We German OEMs have our strengths in system integration, in safety, and in understanding brands and markets," said Carsten Kromke, senior executive director of integrated infotainment, data and computing systems at Volkswagen Group.

ZYT said one of the biggest challenges facing autonomous driving in Europe is public trust.

"Some people feel a little uncomfortable, but after 10 or 15 minutes, they begin to feel the smoothness and the confidence," said Franco, a test driver and engineer.

Many analysts now see cooperation between Chinese software developers and European car makers as increasingly important.

"The Europeans are very, very good at building cars. But the Chinese are much better at building software, to be honest," said Robin Schmidt, an influencer in the auto industry.

According to analysts, cooperation between Chinese software developers and European car makers is increasingly important - especially amid growing trade tensions with the US and the prospect of new tariffs on European cars.

Chinese smart driving company eyes cooperation, expansion in Germany

Chinese smart driving company eyes cooperation, expansion in Germany

A proposed bill on the management of the Strait of Hormuz has entered the review stage at Iran's Supreme National Security Council and will be submitted to parliament for debate and voting after final conclusions are reached, Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday.

No details about the bill's contents were disclosed.

According to the report, work on the legislation has been underway for some time. In addition to the parliamentary review process, several specialized parliamentary committees have participated in studying and assessing the proposal, including the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, the Construction Committee, and the Councils and Internal Affairs Committee.

The report said the committees and several lawmakers had previously submitted separate proposals and drafts. Following a process of coordination and consolidation, a unified text has been prepared and is awaiting further review.

Iran moves forward with review of Strait of Hormuz management legislation: media