logo
Smart driving new front in China car wars despite fatal crash

Smart driving new front in China car wars despite fatal crash

Daily Express29-04-2025
Published on: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Published on: Tue, Apr 29, 2025
By: AFP Text Size: Automakers invested heavily in developing intelligent driving features for China, the world's largest car market with a tech-savvy population. (EPA Images pic) SHENZHEN: Intelligent driving features are the new battleground in China's merciless car market, with competition spurring brands to world-leading advances – but a recent fatal crash has seen the government intervene to put the brakes on runaway enthusiasm. Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) help with tasks ranging from cruise control to parking and collision avoidance, with the ultimate aim being a fully self-driving car. Automakers are pouring investment into their development, especially in the world's biggest car market China, which skews young and tech-savvy. 'Ten years ago, only 15% of customers said they would change car because of an intelligent cockpit – today it's 54%,' Giovanni Lanfranchi of EV firm Zeekr said. Almost 60% of cars sold in China last year had level-two ADAS features – where the driver is still in control but there is continuous assistance – or above, according to an AlixPartners report released last week. The features 'are emerging as a key competitive tool', said the consultancy's Yvette Zhang. Some firms use their own proprietary technology, like start-up Xpeng and consumer electronics-turned-car company Xiaomi, while others are cooperating with tech giants such as Huawei. Such software is being developed in Europe and North America too. But in a survey of hundreds of global auto executives surveyed by AlixPartners, two-thirds said they believed China led the world in the field. 'The collection and processing of data, and the availability of software and machine-learning talent' is difficult to replicate, the report said. The technology is not immune from the price wars that are a key feature of the Chinese market. In February, domestic EV giant BYD announced it would release its 'God's Eye' driving system on nearly all its cars, including on some models priced below US$10,000. Then came a fatal accident in March involving a Xiaomi SU7 that had been in assisted driving mode just before it crashed. The accident, in which three college students died, raised concerns over safety and the advertising of cars as being capable of 'autonomous driving'. The issue is an industry-wide one – Tesla's US-released 'Full Self-Driving' capability, for example, is still meant to be used under driver supervision. 'The price war has just been so brutal, companies are desperate to find any way to set themselves apart,' said Tom Nunlist, associate director for tech and data policy at Trivium China. 'So the question is have they been over-promising on features and releasing things as quickly as possible, for the purposes of fighting this commercial battle.' China's ministry of industry and information technology seems to share those concerns. After the crash, it held a meeting with leading automakers and other key players in which it made clear that safety rules would be more tightly enforced. It warned automakers to test systems rigorously, 'define system functional boundaries… and refrain from exaggerated or false advertising'. Reports said it will also crack down on the practice of improving ADAS via remote software updates. As the massive industry show Auto Shanghai kicked off last week, the shift in gear was obvious. 'In a sharp U-turn from just two months ago, carmakers have taken a low profile in terms of autonomous driving functions, but are emphasising safety instead,' said UBS' Paul Gong in a note. 'Safety is the ultimate premium of new energy vehicles,' a sign at BYD's booth read. At the bustling Xiaomi booth, information boards touted the SU7's colour choices, chassis and hardware – but AFP saw no mention of ADAS at all. 'The autonomous driving function marketing race seems to have halted, at least temporarily,' wrote Gong. Zhang Yu, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight, told AFP that he thought the crash was 'only a setback in marketing terms, which is helpful for a healthy development' of the area. 'This accident was not related to tech or the system itself, it more concerns the ignorance of ADAS and boundary of autonomous driving,' he added. The technology itself continues to progress. 'That's why this is becoming a pressing issue because car companies are going to be wanting to release these features,' Trivium's Nunlist said. However, a truly autonomous car – level five on the scale – is 'certainly not imminent', he added, predicting 'very hard last-mile problems'.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

BOJ may paint less gloomy view, signal rate-hike resumption
BOJ may paint less gloomy view, signal rate-hike resumption

New Straits Times

time17 minutes ago

  • New Straits Times

BOJ may paint less gloomy view, signal rate-hike resumption

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is set to hold off raising interest rates on Thursday, but may offer a less gloomy view on the outlook after Tokyo's trade agreement with the United States last week, signalling rate hikes may resume later this year. Receding global trade tensions following Sunday's agreement between the US and the European Union add relief for BOJ policymakers on the outlook of Japan's export-heavy economy. But the BOJ is likely to warn of lingering uncertainty on how US tariffs affect business activity, with the hit to exports seen intensifying later this year, analysts say. "It's very big progress that reduces uncertainty for Japan's economy – but obviously, some uncertainty remains," BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said last week on the Japan-US trade deal. Uchida noted questions around how soon Washington strikes trade deals with other countries, how the tariffs affect domestic and global economies, and how long it could take for the tariffs' effects to be seen in hard data. At the two-day meeting ending on Thursday, the BOJ is widely expected to keep short-term interest rates steady at 0.5 per cent. Markets are focusing on the bank's quarterly outlook report and Governor Kazuo Ueda's post-meeting news conference for clues on the timing of the next rate hike. A Reuters poll, taken before last week's Japan-US trade deal announcement, showed a majority of economists expect the BOJ to raise rates again by year-end. In the quarterly report, the BOJ is likely to revise up this fiscal year's inflation forecast due to persistent rises in rice and other food costs, sources have told Reuters. The BOJ may also tweak its current view that risks to the price outlook were skewed to the downside, and offer a less gloomy view on the economy compared with the current one focused on tariff-induced risks, according to separate sources. The board is likely to maintain its view that inflation will durably hit its 2.0 per cent target in the latter half of its three-year projection period running through fiscal 2027, they said. In current projections made on May 1, the BOJ projects core consumer inflation to hit 2.2 per cent in fiscal 2025, before slowing to 0.7 per cent in 2026 and 0.9 per cent in 2027. Japan struck a trade deal with President Donald Trump last week that lowers US tariffs for imports of goods including its mainstay automobiles, easing the pain for the export-reliant economy and clearing a key hurdle for further BOJ rate hikes. The positive development contrasts with the gloom that surrounded the economy on May 1, when the BOJ produced its current estimates amid heightened market volatility caused by Trump's April announcement of sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs. The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus last year and raised its short-term policy rate to 0.5 per cent in January on the view Japan was progressing towards durably achieving its price goal. With rising food costs hurting households and keeping inflation above its 2.0 per cent target for three years, some hawkish board members have highlighted mounting price pressures that could justify resuming rate hikes.

CK Hutchison wants Chinese firm to join bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business
CK Hutchison wants Chinese firm to join bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business

New Straits Times

time17 minutes ago

  • New Straits Times

CK Hutchison wants Chinese firm to join bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business

HONG KONG: CK Hutchison said on Monday it wants a major Chinese strategic investor to join the BlackRock-led consortium bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business, after media reported that state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp aims to join the group. The Hong Kong conglomerate in a statement said changes to the composition of the consortium and structure of the transaction will be necessary to secure regulatory approval, and that it will allow as much time as needed to achieve that. A 145-day exclusivity period for talks between the parties expired on Sunday. CK Hutchison's Hong Kong-listed shares were due to open higher just shy of one per cent on Monday. A deal would cover 43 ports in 23 countries including two ports near the Panama Canal which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. US President Donald Trump initially hailed the sale as "reclaiming" the Panama Canal after his administration called for the removal of what it said was Chinese ownership of some ports. US investment firm BlackRock declined to comment. COSCO, Italian consortium member MSC and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China views the potential sale as a threat to its interests, seeing the consortium as a proxy for growing American influence in a region it considers economically and geopolitically significant. State-backed media, in criticism of the sale, said China has significant national interests in the matter and that selling the ports would be a betrayal of the country. China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to developments and stressed the deal would be subject to a Chinese antitrust review. CK Hutchison in its statement said any new investor must be a "significant" member of the consortium. "This is an interesting development. A PRC (China) investor with majority control of the consortium sounds like a non-starter in my view. An investor with a less than 50 per cent stake you would think should keep everyone happy," said strategist David Blennerhassett of Ballingal Investment Advisors who publishes on SmartKarma.

Oil prices rise as US-EU trade deal eases demand concerns
Oil prices rise as US-EU trade deal eases demand concerns

The Sun

time17 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Oil prices rise as US-EU trade deal eases demand concerns

SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged higher on Monday as optimism over a US-EU trade deal and potential US-China tariff negotiations eased concerns about economic slowdowns impacting fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 22 cents to $68.66 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 22 cents to $65.38. 'The US-EU trade deal and possible extension of the US-China tariff pause are supporting global financial markets and oil prices,' said IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore. The agreement imposes a 15% tariff on most EU goods, avoiding a larger trade war between the two economic powerhouses. US and Chinese negotiators are set to meet in Stockholm to discuss extending a tariff truce ahead of an August 12 deadline. Meanwhile, Venezuela's state-run PDVSA is preparing to resume operations under Biden-era licenses if US sanctions are lifted, potentially increasing global supply. OPEC+ is expected to keep its current output policy unchanged at Monday's meeting, with eight members already set to increase production by 548,000 barrels per day in August. Analysts note that summer demand is helping absorb additional supply, with global oil demand rising by 600,000 bpd in July. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthis warned of targeting ships linked to Israeli ports, adding geopolitical risks that could influence oil markets. - Reuters

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store