Smart driving new front in China car wars despite fatal crash

Intelligent driving features are the new battleground in China's merciless car market, with competition spurring brands to world-leading advances -- but a recent fatal crash has seen the government intervene to put the brakes on runaway enthusiasm.
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) help with tasks ranging from cruise control to parking and collision avoidance, with the ultimate aim being a fully self-driving car.
Automakers are pouring investment into their development, especially in the world's biggest car market China, which skews young and tech-savvy.
"Ten years ago, only 15 percent of customers said they would change car because of an intelligent cockpit -- today it's 54 percent," Giovanni Lanfranchi of EV firm Zeekr said.
Almost 60 percent of cars sold in China last year had level-two ADAS features -- where the driver is still in control but there is continuous assistance -- or above, according to an AlixPartners report released last week.
The features "are emerging as a key competitive tool", said the consultancy's Yvette Zhang.
Some firms use their own proprietary technology, like start-up Xpeng and consumer electronics-turned-car company Xiaomi, while others are cooperating with tech giants such as Huawei.
Such software is being developed in Europe and North America too.
But in a survey of hundreds of global auto executives surveyed by AlixPartners, two-thirds said they believed China led the world in the field.
"The collection and processing of data, and the availability of software and machine-learning talent" is difficult to replicate, the report said.
The technology is not immune from the price wars that are a key feature of the Chinese market.
In February, domestic EV giant BYD announced it would release its "God's Eye" driving system on nearly all its cars, including on some models priced below $10,000.
- Over-promising? -
Then came a fatal accident in March involving a Xiaomi SU7 that had been in assisted driving mode just before it crashed.
The accident, in which three college students died, raised concerns over safety and the advertising of cars as being capable of "autonomous driving".
The issue is an industry-wide one -- Tesla's US-released "Full Self-Driving" capability, for example, is still meant to be used under driver supervision.
"The price war has just been so brutal, companies are desperate to find any way to set themselves apart," said Tom Nunlist, associate director for tech and data policy at Trivium China.
"So the question is have they been over-promising on features and releasing things as quickly as possible, for the purposes of fighting this commercial battle."
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology seems to share those concerns.
After the crash, it held a meeting with leading automakers and other key players in which it made clear that safety rules would be more tightly enforced.
It warned automakers to test systems rigorously, "define system functional boundaries... and refrain from exaggerated or false advertising".
Reports said it will also crack down on the practice of improving ADAS via remote software updates.
- 'Sharp U-turn' -
As the massive industry show Auto Shanghai kicked off last week, the shift in gear was obvious.
"In a sharp U-turn from just two months ago, carmakers have taken a low profile in terms of autonomous driving functions, but are emphasising safety instead," said UBS' Paul Gong in a note.
"Safety is the ultimate premium of new energy vehicles," a sign at BYD's booth read.
At the bustling Xiaomi booth, information boards touted the SU7's colour choices, chassis and hardware -- but AFP saw no mention of ADAS at all.
"The autonomous driving function marketing race seems to have halted, at least temporarily," wrote Gong.
Zhang Yu, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight, told AFP that he thought the crash was "only a setback in marketing terms, which is helpful for a healthy development" of the area.
"This accident was not related to tech or the system itself, it more concerns the ignorance of ADAS and boundary of autonomous driving," he added.
The technology itself continues to progress.
"That's why this is becoming a pressing issue because car companies are going to be wanting to release these features," Trivium's Nunlist said.
However, a truly autonomous car -- level five on the scale -- is "certainly not imminent", he added, predicting "very hard last-mile problems".
reb-tmz/dhw

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Insider

23 minutes ago

• Business Insider

China closes gap with U.S. as African countries, others join yuan payment system

China has added more financial institutions from Africa, the Gulf, and Central Asia to its cross-border yuan payment system, a bold move to strengthen the global role of its currency amid intensifying rivalry with the US. China strengthens its cross-border yuan payment system by adding six financial institutions from Africa, the Gulf, and Central Asia. This expansion seeks to internationalize the yuan and reduce reliance on the US dollar in global transactions. The initiative aligns China strategically amidst shifting geopolitical alliances and financial system dynamics. According to a South China morning post; The six financial entities, including the African Export-Import Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, South Africa's Standard Bank, Singapore's United Overseas Bank, Eldik Bank of Kyrgyzstan, and Chongwa (Macau) Financial Asset Exchange, officially joined the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) as direct participants at a ceremony held in Shanghai last week. The post clarified that as direct participants, these institutions can independently process cross-border yuan payments, unlike indirect participants who must route their transactions through direct members. This development is part of Beijing's ongoing efforts to internationalize the yuan and reduce dependence on the US dollar-dominated financial system, while hedging against potential US sanctions as geopolitical tensions with Washington continue to influence global markets architecture and redirect alliances. Notably, this move aligns with Moscow and Tehran's own efforts to circumvent Western financial restrictions, as both nations explore relative payment systems and deepen economic ties. CIPS breaks into global payment system CIPS, launched in 2015 as China's alternative to the widely used SWIFT network, has been gradually attracting corporate and government entities globally, to fast track its progress. As of May 2025, the system reportedly had 174 direct participants, including domestic and international branches of Chinese banks, as well as major Western financial institutions such as HSBC, JP Morgan, and Citibank. The latest additions reflect China's growing ties with regions that are also seeking alternative financial channels and minimizing exposure to Western regulatory risks and sanctions. With this expansion, the Asian giant takes another bold step towards cementing itself as a key player in the emerging multipolar financial landscape.

Business Insider

2 hours ago

• Business Insider

China breaks into Malawi's mining sector with $7 billion investment package

The government of Malawi has signed a landmark $7 billion agreement with Chinese conglomerate, Hunan Sunwalk Technology Group, marking the largest foreign investment in the nation's mining sector. Malawi signed a $7 billion deal with Hunan Sunwalk Technology Group for a titanium extraction project and mineral processing facility. This agreement reflects Malawi's strategic shift towards international partnerships for its natural resource sector. Malawi's government sees the deal as a pivotal step towards transforming mining into an economic growth driver. The deal, signed on June 16, 2025, during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Changsha, China, includes a large-scale t itanium extraction project in Salima and the creation of a state-of-the-art mineral processing facility in the country. Following the signing, the country's Minister of Mining, Dr. Ken Zikhale Ng'oma, hailed the deal as a strategic breakthrough, emphasizing its alignment with President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera's long-term vision of transforming mining into a key driver of the national economy. ' This MoU signals a new era; anchored on sustainability, innovation, and inclusive growth. It aligns squarely with President Chakwera's agenda to turn mining into a driver of national development,' Ng'oma said. China deepens relations in Malawi's mining sector Notably, Hunan Sunwalk CEO and Founder Hou Xingwang described the agreement as a strategic milestone for both nations, stating that it will, ' facilitate the flow of capital, technology, and skilled human resources between China and Malawi ' He also expressed interest in exploring investments in agriculture and other sectors to contribute to Malawi's broader economic development. Ng'oma emphasized that the partnership goes beyond raw material extraction, delivering technological transfer, strict environmental compliance, and human resource development. He highlighted Hunan Sunwalk's successful performance in Zimbabwe as a testament to the company's capabilities. Reassuring the public, the Minister said, " This is the first time Malawi has entered into such a comprehensive MoU with a multinational mining corporation. ' ' We ensured that due diligence was conducted thoroughly, and we are confident that the interests of Malawians are well protected." He added. Officials from both parties described the agreement as a "win-win" venture, with potential to create thousands of new jobs, infrastructure development, and enhance economic growth. The Chinese company has reportedly commenced exploration and feasibility studies in the Salima District. As more African countries move away from traditional EU and US aid models, which often come with allegiance requirements, Malawi is among those eagerly anticipating the transformation of its natural resource sector through partnership with China.

Time​ Magazine

3 hours ago

• Time​ Magazine

Alexandr Wang on AI's Potential and Its ‘Deficiencies'

On June 12, Alexandr Wang stepped down as Scale's CEO to chase his most ambitious moonshot yet: building smarter-than-human AI as head of Meta's new 'superintelligence' division. As part of his move, Meta will invest $14.3 billion for a minority stake in Scale AI, but the real prize isn't his company—it's Wang himself. Wang, 28, is expected to bring a sense of urgency to Meta's AI efforts, which this year have been plagued by delays and underwhelming performance. Once the undisputed leader of open-weight AI, the U.S. tech giant has been overtaken by Chinese rivals like DeepSeek on popular benchmarks. Although Wang, who dropped out of MIT at 19, lacks the academic chops of some of his peers, he offers both insight into the types of data Meta's rivals use to improve their AI systems, and unrivaled ambition. Google and OpenAI are both reportedly severing deals with Scale AI over the Meta deal. Scale declined to comment, but interim CEO has emphasized that the company will continue to operate independently in a blog post. Big goals are Wang's thing. By 24, he'd become the world's youngest self-made billionaire by building Scale into a major player labeling data for the artificial intelligence industry's giants. 'Ambition shapes reality,' reads one of Scale's core values—a motto Wang crafted. That drive has earned him admiration from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who lived in Wang's apartment for months during the pandemic. But his relentless ambition has come with trade-offs. He credits Scale's success to treating data as a 'first-class problem,' but that focus didn't always extend to the company's army of over 240,000 contract workers, some of whom have faced delayed, reduced, or canceled payments after completing tasks. Lucy Guo, who co-founded Scale, but left in 2018 following disagreements with Wang, says it was one of their 'clashing points.' 'I was like, 'we need to focus on making sure they get paid out on time,'" while Wang was more concerned with growth, Guo says. Scale AI has said instances of late-payment are exceedingly rare and that it is constantly improving. The stakes of this growth-at-all-costs mindset are rising. Superintelligent Al 'would amount to the most precarious technological development since the nuclear bomb,' according to a policy paper Wang co-authored in March with Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, and Dan Hendrycks, the director of the Center of AI Safety. Wang's new role at Meta makes him an important decision maker about this technology that leaves no room for error. TIME spoke to Wang in April, before he stepped down as Scale's CEO. He discussed his leadership style, how prepared the U.S. is for AGI and AI's 'deficiencies.' This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Your leadership style has been described as very in-the-weeds. For example, it's been reported you would take a 1-1 call with every new employee even as headcount reached into the hundreds. How has your view of leadership evolved as Scale has grown? Leadership is a very multifaceted discipline, right? There's level one—can you accomplish the things that are right in front of you? Level two is: are the things that you're doing even the right things? Are you pointing the right direction? And then there's a lot of the level three stuff, which is probably the most important—what's the culture of the organization? All that kind of stuff. I definitely think my approach to leadership is one of very high attention to detail, being very in-the-weeds, being quite focused, instilling a high level of urgency, really trying to ensure that the organization is moving as quickly and as urgently towards the critical problems as possible. But also layering in, how do you develop a healthy culture? How do you develop an organization where people are put in positions where they're able to do their best work, and they're constantly learning and growing within these environments. When you're pointed at a mission that is larger than life, then you have the ability to accomplish things that are truly great. Since a trip to China in 2018, you've been outspoken about the threat posed by China's AI ambitions. Now, particularly in the wake of DeepSeek, this view has become a lot more dominant in Washington. Do you have any other takes regarding AI development that might be kind of fringe now, but will become mainstream in five years or so? I think, the agentic world—one where businesses and governments are increasingly doing more and more of their economic activity with agents; that humans are more and more just feeling sort of like managers and overseers of those agents; where we're starting to shift and offload more economic activity onto agents. This is certainly the future, and how we, as a society, undergo that transition with minimum disruption is very, very non-trivial. I think it definitely sounds scary when you talk about it, and I think that's sort of like an indication that it's not going to be something that's very easy to accomplish or very easy to do. My belief is, I think that there's a number of things that we have to build, that we have to get right, that we have to do, to ensure that that transition is smooth. I think there's a lot of excitement and energy put towards this sort of agentic world. And we think it touches every facet of our world. So enterprises will become agentic enterprises. Governments will become agentic governments. Warfare will become agentic warfare. It's going to deeply cut into everything that we do and there's a few key pieces, both infrastructure that need to be built, as well as key policy decisions and key decisions [about] how it gets implemented within the economy that are all quite critical. What's your assessment of how prepared and how seriously the U.S. government is taking the possibility of 'AGI' [artificial general intelligence]? I think AI is very, very top of mind for the administration, and I think there's a lot of trying to assess: What is the rate of progress? How quickly are we going to achieve what most people call AGI? Slower timeframe, faster timeframe? In the case where it's a faster timeframe, what are the right things to repair? I think these are major conversations. If you go to Vice President JD Vance's speech from the Paris AI action Summit, he speaks explicitly to this, the concept that the current administration is focused on the American worker, and that they will ensure that AI is beneficial to the American worker. I think as AI continues to progress—I mean, the industry is moving at a breakneck speed—people will take note and take action. One job that seems ripe for disruption is data annotation itself. We've seen in-house AI models used for the captioning of the dataset OpenAI's Sora, and at the same time, reasoning models are being trained on synthetic self-play data on defined challenges. Do you think those trends pose a threat of disruption to Scale AI's data annotation business? I actually think it's quite the opposite. If you look at the growth in the AI related jobs around contribution to AI data sets—there's a lot of words for this, but we call them 'contributors,'—it's grown exponentially over time. There's a lot of conversation around whether as the models get better does the work go away. The reality is that the work is continuing to grow many fold, year over year and you can see this in our growth. So my expectation actually is, if you draw a line forward, towards an agentic economy, more people actually end up moving towards doing what we'd currently consider AI data work—that'll be an increasingly large part of the economy. Why haven't we been able to automate AI data work? Automating AI data work is a little bit of a tautology, because AI data work is meant to make the models better, and so if the models were good at the things they were producing data for, then you wouldn't need it in the first place. So, fundamentally, AI data is all focused on the areas where the models are deficient. And as AI gets applied into more and more places within the economy, we're only going to find more deficiencies there. You can stand back and squint and the AI models seem really smart, but if you actually try to use it to do any of a number of key workflows in your job, you'd realize that's quite deficient. And so I think that as a society, humanity will never cease to find areas in which these models need to improve and that will drive a continual need for AI data work. One of Scale's contributions has been to position itself as a technology company as much as a data company. How have you pulled that off and stood out from the competition? If you take a big step back, AI progress fundamentally relies on three pillars: data, compute and algorithms. It became very clear that the data was one of the key bottlenecks of this industry. Compute and algorithms were also bottlenecked, but data was sort of right there with them. I think before Scale, there weren't companies that treated data as the first-class of a problem it really is. With Scale, one of the things that we've really done is treat data with the respect that it deserves. We've really sought to understand, 'How do we solve this problem in the correct way? How do we solve it in the most tech-forward way?' Once you have these three pillars, you can build applications on top of the data and the algorithms. And so what we've built at Scale is the platform that first, underpins the data pillar for the entire industry. Then we've also found that with that pillar, we're able to build on top, and we're able to help businesses and governments build and deploy AI applications on top of their incredible wealth of data. I think that's really what set us apart.