Germany: Chinese smart driving company steers into German market.

Storyline Chinese smart driving company steers into German market Chinese intelligent driving company ZYT has opened its European headquarters in Braunschweig, near Volkswagen's base in Wolfsburg. The company says future autonomous driving systems will be developed with European partners. Shen Shaojie, CEO, ZYT: "We are here to actually do engineering. We make good products here, we hire good engineers, we work closely with local partners. " The opening comes as Germany's auto industry faces growing pressure from global competition and the shift toward software-driven vehicles. Many believe the future of the sector may depend as much on AI and software as traditional engineering. Carsten Kromke, senior executive director of integrated infotainment, data and computing systems, Volkswagen Group: "Chinese tech companies, especially in the fields of autonomous driving, the development of software-defined vehicles, as well as digitalization, can certainly be described as pacesetters in the global automotive industry. We German OEMs have our strength in system integration, in safety and in understanding brands and markets." To demonstrate the technology, CGTN was invited to test one of the company autonomous driving systems. Peter Oliver, Reporter: "So you're driving just like a normal car right now. Set the location where we are going in the system, once you press that, Clicks Pilot takes over. Your hands come off the wheel, your feet come off the pedals and now the computer is driving us." ZYT says one of the biggest challenges facing autonomous driving in Europe is public trust. Franco, test driver: "Some people feel a little uncomfortable, but after 10 or 15 minutes, people begin to feel the smoothness and the confidence." According to analysts, the cooperation between Chinese software developers and European carmakers is increasingly important. Robin Schmidt, auto influencer: "The Europeans are very, very good at building cars. But the Chinese are much better at building software, to be honest. So the Europeans cannot do it alone." For decades, Germany helped define the global car industry through engineering. The next chapter may depend on whether Europe and China can learn to build the future together. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]