If a motor show can have a signature colour, that of the recent Guangzhou event in China was turquoise. Not due to a popular body colour but LEDs illuminated at various places on the exterior of multiple cars.
Turquoise light indicates that a car is driving in a semi-autonomous or autonomous mode, and it has become the latest must-have to lure customers in the cut-throat Chinese car market.
Bright turquoise LEDs were everywhere at Guangzhou, acting as a beacon to showgoers that these models from Xpeng, MG owner SAIC, Aito, Luxeed, Maextro or Li Auto could take control to give the driver welcome respite from the city’s traffic jams.
For now these are semi-autonomous, or level-two-plus (L2+) in the current jargon. This means the driver is paying attention (or meant to be…) but the car is handling much of the lane changing, stop lights, obstacle avoidance and navigation with minimal intervention.
As I discovered in a trial of Xpeng’s sophisticated technology, this allows hands-off driving for minutes at a time, even if that’s not strictly allowed.
“Autonomous features are one of the biggest battlegrounds for Chinese brands, particularly higher-end ones,” Tu Le, head of China-focused automotive consultancy Sino Insights, told Autocar.
Robotaxi companies like Pony, WeRide and Baidu are locked in competition with suppliers offering sophisticated ADAS, like Momenta, Huawei and ZYT, which in turn are in a race with car makers that have in-house development teams, such as Xpeng, Nio, BYD, Li Auto and Xiaomi. “The level of competition is unique to China,” Le said.
Huawei’s stand in particular was ablaze with turquoise LEDs on cars from high-end brands such as Luxeed, Aito, Stelato (owned by Chery, Seres and BAIC respectively) that had signed up to Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA). It included a new brand from SAIC that incorporated the technology in lower-cost models for the first time.
What used to be a differentiation however is now a must-have to appeal to the more heeled buyer. “A solid L2+ system is now an entry point,” Le said.
So car makers are now beginning to promise to take over the driving completely. Xpeng said that next year it will launch level three (autonomous highway driving) and level four (autonomous almost everywhere) self-driving cars on the market.
Even if regulations are loosened (and it’s a big ‘if,’ given the Chinese state’s recent crackdown on unrealistic autonomy claims), is this promise viable?
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