Chinese NEV enterprises drive, thrive on AI track

TIANJIN - A visitor sat in a new energy vehicle (NEV) and asked its intelligent system to find a suitable nearby parking lot. Within a few seconds, the screen displayed the locations of many nearby parking lots, as well as the optimal choice.

XPENG, a smart NEV maker based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, showcased a series of AI-powered innovations at the 2024 World Intelligence Expo held recently in North China's Tianjin municipality.

Inside one of its cars equipped with AI interaction functions, users can receive recommendations for nearby scenic spots or even travel tips simply by asking questions.

The car also features an AI Valet Driver function. "When you drive on a road after setting navigation from point A to point B, our car remembers the route. If you choose to set the same navigation next time, the car can drive itself by imitating the way you drive," said Li Xiaodong, an XPENG sales staff member, while adding that the car can remember as many as 10 routes, each up to 100 km long.

In addition, XPENG has enhanced driving safety through AI technology, introducing an AI Bodyguard function. With smart sensors, such as LiDARs and cameras, an XPENG vehicle can accurately perceive the external environment and even predict the trajectory of small animals and surrounding vehicles to avoid collisions, Li said.

Nowadays, breakthrough technologies such as intelligent connection, intelligent vehicle control, digital twins, and AI large models have provided strong driving forces for China's NEV sector, enabling more related enterprises to drive on the AI track.

Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group has designed a magic cube platform which can be adapted to suit different types of cars, and which can also accommodate different power applications.

The platform integrated industry-leading technologies in terms of car safety, power, chassis and software, to provide users with better driving experiences, said Hu Jinyuan, a company engineer.

Three years ago, Seres Group cooperated with Huawei in jointly designing a series of AITO products.

"Now, all AITO cars have intelligent driving functions, two-thirds of them have high-level intelligent driving functions. The assistance driving functions are being used by one-third of the car owners," said Zhang Xinghai, chairman of Seres Group, adding that with the in-depth development of intelligent driving, these proportions will continue to increase.

Such cooperation between Chinese internet companies and NEV firms has become a trend in the country.

In May this year, 360 Group and Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr signed a strategic cooperation agreement to explore the business scenarios of digital construction and intelligent transformation in the NEV field.

"Through 360 Group's achievements in the field of digital security, we hope to protect the digital security of NEV enterprises, as well as the privacy security of cars. We will also focus on the scenarios of human-car interactions and improvement of vehicle enterprises' operational management efficiency, creating a full life cycle of security and intelligent experience," said Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360 Group.

An Conghui, CEO of Zeekr Intelligent Technology, said that users pay more attention to data security and privacy security in the era of intelligent connection. The company looks forward to further cooperation with 360 Group in the field of users' data security in the future.

China's NEV sector sustained sound growth momentum in the January to May period this year. NEV output surged to 3.93 million units in the first five months, up 30.7 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, while NEV sales rose by 32.5 percent to 3.9 million units.

The boundaries of smart cars continue to expand. A "flying car" equipped with multiple rotors, named XPENG X2 and produced by XPENG, recently completed its first flight in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Zhang Yongjiu, a manager at XPENG AEROHT, an XPENG affiliate, said XPENG X2 has a full carbon fiber structure, and offers automatic driving, radar ranging, and automatic obstacle avoidance functions.

XPENG X2 has a maximum load of 160 kg, a maximum design flight altitude of 1,000 meters, a maximum design flight speed of 130 km per hour, and a flight time duration of about 25 minutes after takeoff, added Zhang.

According to Zhang Xinghai, China's automotive industry has embraced the trend of intelligence and connection, which will win it more and more customers from home and abroad.