Chinese EV firms are flush with orders, as tech such as autonomous driving lures in Chinese motorists
- EVs produced by Xpeng, NIO and Huawei Technologies have proved to be popular
- ‘Young Chinese drivers are keen on the development of autonomous driving technologies’, analyst says
Most autonomous driving technology in use, classified as Level 2 (L2) or L2+ by global standardisation body SAE International, is a few steps below full automation, a stage that does not need any human intervention and is classified as L5.
02:18
Chinese XPeng electric car can drive and park by itself
“Tech that is at a preliminary stage to fully-autonomous vehicles is the ace up EV companies’ sleeves,” said Peter Chen, an engineer with car components company ZF TRW in Shanghai. “Young Chinese drivers are keen on the development of autonomous driving technologies and are willing to spend a big sum to experience it.”
China is expected to report sales of more than 2.4 million new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars – in 2021, according to an estimate by the China Passenger Car Association, which has yet to release full-year data.
01:16
Tesla exports first China-made cars to Europe with shipment of 7,000 Model 3 electric sedans
China-focused investment research firm EqualOcean said in a research report in November that 1.6 million EVs produced on the mainland in 2021 fell into the category of smart vehicles, accounting for about two-thirds of total EV deliveries nationwide. Smart EVs feature autonomous driving technology, as well as sophisticated in-car entertainment facilities and digital technologies such as voice recognition, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
EqualOcean forecast that 7.13 million new cars taking to China’s streets in 2025 will be smart EVs.