How DeepSeek’s AI has become a must-have feature in Chinese smart EVs

Name: Does the arrival of China’s low-cost DeepSeek mean the end of Nvidia’s chip dominance?
Uploaded: 2025-02-16T01:00:15.000Z
Duration: 5 min
Description: Does the arrival of China’s low-cost DeepSeek mean the end of Nvidia’s chip dominance?

Some two dozen carmakers, including BYD and Leapmotor, have unveiled plans to equip their models with AI developed by DeepSeek

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Car industry insiders say DeepSeek has become a new source of national pride and it will help Chinese carmakers boost sales. Photo: Reuters

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 9:00am, 16 Feb 2025

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are scrambling to install artificial intelligence (AI) developed by DeepSeek to add to their cars’ digital bells and whistles in a highly competitive market.

More than a dozen carmakers, from EV leader BYD to Stellantis-backed start-up Leapmotor, have announced plans to develop cars fitted with DeepSeek AI features over the past two weeks.

“It is the latest sign of competition emerging on a new front – enticing drivers and passengers with more advanced chatbot tools,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based EV data provider CnEVPost. “Cars without DeepSeek will either lose market share or be edged out of the market.”

The Hangzhou-based start-up seized the world’s attention over the past few weeks after releasing two advanced open-source AI models, DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, at a fraction of the cost and computing power that major tech companies typically require for large language model (LLM) projects. LLM is the technology behind generative AI services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DeepSeek’s own namesake chatbot.

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Does the arrival of China’s low-cost DeepSeek mean the end of Nvidia’s chip dominance?

AI can make cars safer and smarter through advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), enhance in-car infotainment and improve the overall driving experience.

Last Monday, BYD said it would integrate DeepSeek with its Xuanji vehicle software to enhance its cars’ AI capabilities. The carmaker plans to offer preliminary self-driving in nearly all its cars for free, making autonomous driving affordable to all mainland Chinese customers as it seeks a competitive edge in an escalating price war.

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How DeepSeek’s AI has become a must-have feature in Chinese smart EVs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some two dozen carmakers, including BYD and Leapmotor, have unveiled plans to equip their models with AI developed by DeepSeek

Some two dozen carmakers, including BYD and Leapmotor, have unveiled plans to equip their models with AI developed by DeepSeek