(China Daily) As the automobile industry is increasingly integrated with information and communication technology, artificial intelligence and the Internet, China’s intelligent vehicle industry has entered a new phase of progress rapid technological and industrial expansion which presents new challenges and new opportunities.
In the competitive new energy vehicle market, electrification and intelligence characterize the first two phases. As the transition to electrification accelerates, so does the transition to intelligence, a trend that industry experts attending the 2023 Global Intelligent Vehicle Summit say will require substantial investment and iterations fast.
The summit was held at the end of September in Hefei, Anhui province.
“Intelligence will determine the winners in the second half of the automobile revolution. Without developing intelligence, even the first-mover advantage in electrification may not be sustainable,” said Zhang Yongwei, vice president of automotive think tank China EV 100, organizer of the summit.
As the think tank predicts that the real economic value generated by automotive intelligence-related industries will reach 2.8 trillion yuan ($383.49 billion) by 2030, Zhang said intelligent vehicles will play a important role in driving technological innovation and industrial growth while benefiting society by enabling artificial intelligence. transport and smart cities, addressing issues such as congestion, road accidents, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Zhang pointed out that the pillars of China’s intelligent automobile industry are electrification, information communication, integration of big data, large models and AI. Among them, big data, large models and AI are emerging forces that promise to realize autonomous driving. With high cloud-based computing power and closed-loop data capabilities, large models will significantly accelerate iterations of smart cockpits and autonomous driving.
Of the approximately 200 existing large generative AI models in the world, it is estimated that more than 190 are likely to be phased out, and market redistribution for them should be determined by competition rather than government directives, Zhang Yaqin said , dean of the Institute for AI at Tsinghua University. Industry Research, said at the summit.
According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China saw 7 million new passenger vehicles equipped with driver assistance functions sold in 2022, an increase of 45.6 % over one year, ensuring a market share of 34.9%. In the first half of this year, these vehicles accounted for 42.4 percent of total passenger vehicle sales.
Su Tan, head of the intelligent automobile business at Baidu’s intelligent driving group, said the latest data indicates that intelligent driving features now play an important role in automobile purchasing decisions, constituting 10 % of decision-making factors. Su added that the autonomous driving industry is advancing rapidly, with Level 2 functions tending to become standard features.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaofei, vice president of Changan Automobile, predicted that NEV retail sales in China this year will exceed 7.7 million units, accounting for 38% of total sales. They are expected to account for 70% of sales by 2025, and domestic brands will usher in their best decade of development. Chinese brands hold a market share of up to 82.9% in the NEV sector and have established unique competitive and technological advantages.
Wang said intelligence is expected to lead to the upgrading of domestic brands through encouraging policies, improved technologies and lower costs, combined to make advanced intelligent driving a core advantage.
As critical enablers of intelligent functionality, chips are undergoing rapid research and development transformation to meet the demands of a rapidly growing market. Liu Tong, global vice president of chip giant Nvidia and general manager of its automotive business in China, said intelligent driving will continue to highlight more complex problem-solving capabilities in vehicles.
“We will reduce the number of chips, increase features per chip, and improve cost effectiveness and vehicle design while moving toward a centralized computing model,” Liu added.
Qiu Xiaoshen, founder and CEO of Axera Semiconductor Co, said that with the auto industry’s focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency leading to intensified competition, Chinese chip companies electronics have the opportunity to excel in the intelligent driving sector, enhanced by the nation’s leading role in the global NEV manufacturing sector. It expects Chinese chip companies to capture a significant share of the domestic intelligent driving chip market within three years.
Wu Feng, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the summit that in addition to progress, some challenges still remain and the ministry will address them by accelerating policy and regulatory improvements, exploring technology development paths and commercialization models, and strengthening collaborative industry management.
Source: By Cao Yingying | China Daily | Updated: 2023-10-09 08:14