According to Chinese media, BMW has signed a deal with leading Chinese autonomous-driving technology company Momenta for its Neue Klasse smart driving systems (ADAS). Momenta will provide localized L2/L3 smart driving software, including city and highway navigation systems trained on Chinese roads with specific infrastructure.
It’s not uncommon for a Western carmaker to work with a Chinese partner for its ADAS systems, rather than adapting a European system. Mercedes-Benz has made a similar deal with Momenta and even invested in it since 2017. For German luxury automakers, it is crucial to have local tech to get a foothold in the highly competitive Chinese EV market.
Chinese evolving faster
Chinese ADAS systems are not universally more advanced than European ones, but they are evolving faster in some areas, especially in mass-market urban deployment, integration speed, and data scale. Chinese brands are pushing Level2+ and even L3-capable ADAS across mid-range cars, not just luxury.
Remember, China’s most significant EV carmaker, BYD, has launched its newest advanced driver system, ‘God’s Eye’. It will be available in all its models in China, ranging from the luxury Yangwang U9 supercar to the modest cars under 100,000 yuan (€13,278), such as the Dolphin or Seagull.
Starting Neue Klasse production
BMW has started production of its first Neue Klasse model, the iX3 mid-size SUV, for Europe in Debrecen, Hungary. The Munich plant begins production in summer 2026; complete transition to EV-only by the end of 2027. China-bound Neue Klasse vehicles will be visually and digitally distinct from their European counterparts.
For its Neue Klasse in China, which will start production with the China-specific i3 (NA0) in Shenyang, BMW needs to come up with something competitive. It will use Momenta’s deep learning-based Flywheel model, also used in over 130 models from other carmakers like Toyota, GM, Honda, SAIC‑VW, Buick, Cadillac, Audi‑SAIC, IM Motors, and more.
Better in cities
Momenta’s AI can handle diverse real-world Chinese traffic scenarios with less reliance on HD maps, improving robustness across cities. The dependence on expensive HD maps is reduced by combining perception and decision-making into unified neural networks, the so-called ‘flywheel’ approach.
Systems like this can adapt to dynamic Chinese urban environments more flexibly than rigid, map-based European ADAS stacks. While many European systems focus on highway-only Level 2 features, Chinese firms have prioritized urban NOA (Navigation On Autopilot), including unprotected turns, negotiating dense traffic, and obstacle avoidance.
In L2, the car can steer, accelerate, and brake simultaneously, but the driver must remain engaged and supervise at all times. When talking about L2 highway NOA, the car follows a whole highway route, including lane changes, merges, and exits. L3 allows the vehicle to drive itself without constant driver supervision, but only under certain conditions.
Using Huawei’s HarmonyOS
BMW will not only work with local Momenta for its China-specific software, as it already confirmed a partnership with Huawei to integrate HarmonyOS NEXT into its infotainment and in-car systems for Chinese-market Neue Klasse EVs and HiCar 4.0, Huawei’s in-car connectivity platform.
This allows deep integration with Huawei mobile services, ecosystem apps, and connected devices. It’s seen as the Chinese counterpart to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but tailored for local ecosystems. HarmonyOS NEXT is the native version of Huawei’s OS, no longer relying on Android AOSP, and BMW is one of the first foreign OEMs to use it natively.
Apart from that, BMW is developing a China-specific voice assistant with Mandarin natural language processing and localized content for streaming, delivery services, or local calendars, among others. The Shanghai R&D and Design Center is BMW’s hub for developing and adapting these services and apps specifically for the Chinese market.
