China’s EV price war turns into an AI arms race over cheaper cars

BEIJING — Chinese electric car makers are adding more similar artificial intelligence features to survive a long price war in the world’s biggest car market.

In recent years, the competition has shifted from increasing battery range to deploying driver assistance systems and using more powerful automotive chips. Automakers are currently focusing on a range of in-vehicle AI capabilities.

Currently, more than 50 automotive brands are using ByteDance’s Doubao AI model. The company’s cloud platform Volcano Engine was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show last Friday. The technology division had a booth next to robotaxi company Pony.ai.

This means Doubao is installed in more than 7 million vehicles in 145 car models, Volcano Engine said. In addition to domestic cars, Doubao AI is also being integrated into new foreign brand models such as all-electric vehicles. mercedes benz GLC, SAIC Motor Audi E7X and SAIC volkswagen ID. Defense rate 9X.

“We will continue to integrate new features more quickly,” Fermín Soneira, CEO of the Audi and SAIC cooperation project, told reporters ahead of the auto show this month. He mentioned how automakers can quickly deploy technology updates remotely, or “over the air.”

Despite the rapid introduction of new features, automakers face constant sales pressure.

“The production capacity is there, so the situation will continue to be tough,” he said. “This price war isn’t really going to stop over the next month.”

The move to AI reflects consumer demand for connected features, such as Huawei smartphone-compatible interfaces and voice-based assistants such as Doubao.

ByteDance’s Doubao is by far the most widely used AI chatbot in China, with more than 155 million weekly active users as of the beginning of this year, according to consultancy Chozan. Volcano Engine’s car show booth included demos of its automotive AI system in both Chinese and English.

Stephen Dyer, partner, managing director and head of Asia Automotive and Industrial Consulting at AlixPartners, said the price war has turned into a feature war over cockpit technology.

The challenge, however, is that much of that technology quickly becomes similar, making it difficult for companies to stand out.

Of the top 20 best-selling electric cars in China, those priced at 100,000 yuan ($14,645) or more had similar driver assistance and in-car entertainment features, according to AlixPartners.

“We’re going to have to continue to compete when it comes to technology, because technology spreads so fast that you can never maintain a differentiated technology for long,” Dyer said.

Instead, he expects Chinese companies to start competing more in “out-of-vehicle experiences” as well as luxury brands offering upscale lifestyle experiences.

Chinese car manufacturers NiohFor example, the company offers customers exclusive access to its products and clubhouse, in addition to vehicles with premium interior materials.

Chinese electric car companies are struggling with the cost of offering these perks and slowing market growth. But Nio last week claimed that its ES8 was the first car model in the 400,000 yuan and above segment of the industry to ship 100,000 units in just 215 days.

alibaba Also on Friday, the company announced that its Qwen artificial intelligence model will be integrated into vehicles from the following automakers: BYD It is a local joint venture of Volkswagen. The system allows drivers to perform functions such as ordering food deliveries, booking hotels, purchasing tickets to attractions, and tracking packages through voice commands.

This model runs on Nvidia’s in-vehicle chip system and is designed to work even with limited network connectivity.

Ultimately, AI should run in the background to support the user experience and not necessarily be a feature of the vehicle, Tu Le, founder and managing director of consultancy Sino Auto Insights, told CNBC’s Eunice Yuon.

Even though it may be difficult for automakers to stand out in China, they may be able to compete more effectively with their overseas peers.

“The simple features that we think of, and the kind of standard features in mass-market cars in the Chinese market, will sooner or later be expected in the Western market as well,” Le said.