On May 28, 2025, Open House China 2025 and the 10th anniversary celebration of IPG Automotive China were successfully held in Shanghai. Centered around the theme A Decade of Partnership, Innovating the Future, the event gathered industry experts, strategic partners, and customers from the entire automotive world to explore cutting-edge advancements in virtual development technologies, while celebrating the milestones IPG Automotive China achieved over the past decade. The event was hosted by Minghong Li, Sales Director of IPG Automotive China, and featured rich content and vibrant participation.
The event commenced with an opening address by Xiao Huang, Managing Director of IPG Automotive China. He reviewed IPG Automotive China's development journey – from its initial localization efforts to becoming a leading provider for virtual development solutions. Xiao Huang reaffirmed the company’s commitment to a customer-first, innovation-driven philosophy and outlined future strategic priorities, emphasizing the role of digital twins and simulation technologies in enabling smarter and more efficient R&D processes.
Following that, Steffen Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IPG Automotive GmbH, delivered remarks from a global perspective, highlighting IPG Automotive’s leadership in virtual vehicle development. He underscored the unique importance of the Chinese market and reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to Chinese customers.
Raphael Pfeffer, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at IPG Automotive GmbH, focused on future industry trends, detailing the core components of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and the pivotal role of virtualization. He emphasized that virtualization is not only essential for shortening development cycles but also forms the foundation for high-quality, cost-effective innovation.
Xiaowei Pan, Director of Electronic Digital Twin (eDT) Solution at Synopsys China, delivered a keynote titled Electronics Digital Twins: The Future of Efficient Software-Defined Vehicle Validation. He illustrated the application of digital twin technology in automotive electronics development, demonstrating how virtual ECUs (VECU) can execute production code at different levels of abstraction to enable diversified early-stage testing. Xiaowei Pan stressed that digital twins significantly improve development efficiency while ensuring the highest safety and quality standards.
Session 1: End-to-End Test Strategy: From Virtual ECU to Cross-Domain HIL and VIL
Songyue Zheng, Technical Director of IPG Automotive China, and Xingguo Li, Team Lead of Test System at IPG Automotive China, co-hosted the first session. They presented IPG Automotive’s end-to-end testing strategy, covering the full process from virtual ECU to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) testing. Practical case studies showcased how virtualization can significantly reduce development time.
Session 2: New Features of CarMaker 14 and Next Generation RTPC Hardware Platform
Feng Ding, Team Leader of Solution Engineering at IPG Automotive China, and Alexander Frings, Director Product Management at IPG Automotive GmbH, introduced the latest CarMaker 14.0 features – ranging from high-definition scene modeling and weather simulation to 4D radar perception. Furthermore, they also unveiled the powerful new generation of real-time PC hardware platforms, providing robust support for complex simulations.
Session 3: VIRTO: Scaling the Simulation Workflow Through Accessibility
Hao Li, Team Lead of Software Engineering at IPG Automotive China, Li Zhang, Application Engineer, and Raphael Pfeffer, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at IPG Automotive, discussed how the VIRTO platform simplifies and scales simulation workflows. They demonstrated advanced features such as AI-driven scenario generation and multi-environment parallel testing, showcasing the limitless possibilities of virtual development.
Zhiqiang Zhang, Autonomous Driving Test Manager at China Automotive Technology & Research Center Co., Ltd. (CAERI), delivered a presentation titled Intelligent and Connected Vehicle Policy Standards and Testing Evaluation in China, offering a comprehensive interpretation of the latest regulatory landscape.
Suo Liu, Vehicle Safety Director at UTAC and Euro NCAP Official Inspector, shared updates on Euro NCAP 2026 Crash Avoidance, highlighting the critical role of simulation in safety rating evaluations.
Canhua Li, Team Leader of Brake control system development at Volkswagen Group (China) Technology Company Limited (VCTC), introduced a case study on Electric Brake System Software-in-the-Loop Testing (SIL), demonstrating the efficiency of virtualization in real-world development projects.
Each presentation offered in-depth insights and practical value, providing attendees with a deeper understanding of the industry landscape.
The event also featured a product exhibition and networking area, co-organized by IPG Automotive and nine partners: AIP, IAV, Keysight Technologies, Sherpa Engineering and Changshun Group, Spirent Communications, Synopsys, TrianGraphics, UTAC, and VCARSYSTEM. Their joint innovations drew significant interest and lively interaction among attendees.
