Xinhua: China's auto industry accelerates toward intelligent transformation
Having surged to the forefront of the global new energy vehicle (NEV) market with their outstanding performance, Chinese automakers are exploring strategies to gain an advantage over their competitors in the more challenging latter phase of the market race, which is increasingly driven by intelligent development and artificial intelligence. One of the latest efforts in this push was the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference (WICV), held from October 17th to 19th in Beijing, Xinhua reports.
The WICV attracted over 250 auto firms and institutions from home and abroad, with more than 200 new technologies and products making their debut.
"Intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) have become a focus of industry innovation, and Chinese automobiles are accelerating into a new stage with intelligence as their core competitiveness," Li Shufu, the Chairman of Geely Holding Group, said, adding that seizing the opportunities presented by intelligent technology and promoting China's transformation into an automotive powerhouse is a challenge the entire Chinese auto industry must address.
At the moment, China’s ICV sector boasts nearly 400 ‘little giant’ firms, or novel elites of small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing, specialise in a niche market and hold cutting-edge technologies. Five Chinese lidar companies have ranked among the global top 10 in sales, while nine automotive manufacturers are piloting conditional automated driving models.
Global players like Volkswagen are also speeding up their intelligent transformation in a bid to expand their presence in the Chinese market.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, more than 50 cities have designated over 32,000km of test routes for ICVs and upgraded about 10,000km of roads with smart technologies Tt support such rapid industrial development in China.
