On March 16, 2025, the view inside Zeekr mixed with electric cars in a showroom in Shanghai, China.
Bloomberg|Bloomberg|Getty Images
Beijing – China Electric Vehicle Company Zeekr Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC ahead of Tuesday’s launch that advanced driver assistance features will be released to its local customers for free as competition heats up.
The technology allows cars to drive from one preset destination to another almost autonomously, as long as the driver puts his hands on the steering wheel and has regulatory approvals – in most major Chinese cities, there are increasing situations.
This is the latest Chinese electric car brand that can upgrade its driver assistance products to Tesla In China, trying to attract more buyers of their own versions is called “full autonomous driving.”
After initial criticism of the 64,000 yuan ($8,850) software Too expensiveSome Chinese social media users said on Monday that Tesla is Free drivers for some users – Assistive Systems By April 16. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the company, Zeekr’s version will be free, initially launched to the pilot group and then released to the public in April.
“At present, in this development period, I don’t think the subscription makes that sense,” the CEO said in an interview on Friday.
Given the fierce competition, Zeekr needs to close the gap with market leaders in driving assistance and become a top player. “So, we have to bear some expenses.” One said Zeekr had only provided more basic driver assistance features, such as parking lots.
Zeekr is listed in the U.S. and plans to release quarterly earnings on Thursday before the U.S. market opens. Stocks rose only about 6% year-on-year.
Nvidia chips
CEO A said Zeekr’s driver-assistance system uses two NVIDIA ORIN X chipsets and a LiDAR, or a light detection and range unit that allows vehicles to navigate roads without relying on sunlight conditions.
He said the upcoming version of the system will use NVIDIA’s more advanced Thor Automotive chip, a remote lidar and four shorter LIDAR units.
“Using lidar may increase costs, but it reflects the degree to which we value safety,” Ann said. He said that given different regulations and local market demand, the driver assistance system of Zeekr cars that do not use NVIDIA chips will not use NVIDIA chips.
Zeekr’s driver assistance system will also be used in the EV brand Lynk & Co. the car, spokesperson, and possibly the vehicle from the parent company Geely. Zeekr formal Obtained by Lynk & Co. This year.
From price war to driver competition
NVIDIA’s “autonomous driving platform” sales help drive chip manufacturers Revenue from Automotive and Robotics In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, it hit a record $570 million.
It also reflects market demand, mainly luminescent producers heesai This month said its LiDAR shipments have more than doubled for four consecutive years as of 2024.
HESAI’s chief financial officer Andrew Fan told CNBC last week that the company expects a significant growth in advanced driver assistance systems starting last year, noting an industry joke that China’s electric vehicle market has shifted from a price war to a war of driver assistance.
In the past two years, the technology has More and more become a selling point For China’s new energy vehicles, including the only battery and hybrid vehicles.
nev gant Bit In February, it will launch more than 20 driver assistance features Its car model. While current features are focused primarily on parking and highway navigation, the company said it could issue an upgrade with point-to-point driver assistance by the end of 2025.
BYD drivers – the most basic version of the auxiliary system uses Horizon Robotics’ chipset and NvidiaAccording to Nomura’s research, although the more advanced version only uses other NVIDIA chips.
China’s electric vehicles start xpenganother NVIDIA customer has made Advanced Driver aid an early point of sale, offering more than 30,000 cars a month since November, partly because of the same for its new P7+ car. In addition to other subscriptions that require driver assistance.
Neo The company said it has subscribed to its driver assist feature but has not yet charged users.
