Automotive experts weigh in on dramatic shift of technologies within Chinese electric vehicles: 'A whole suite of new features'
Switching to an electric vehicle is a smart move for your pocketbook and the planet. And industry experts in China believe the cars are now so advanced that a name change is warranted.
According to Business Insider, there's a push to start referring to the cleaner rides as EIVs, for "electric intelligent vehicles."
"E enables I, so that offers a whole suite of new features to consumers, which cannot be offered with traditional combustion-engine cars," Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, co-chairperson Pan Jian told the outlet.
China's CATL is the world's largest battery maker, operating in a country where EVs are thriving. The Chinese EV market is forecast to hit nearly $378 billion this year. Comparatively, the U.S. sector is expected to grow to more than $104 billion, all per data collector Statista. In total, global full-battery and plug-in hybrid sales jumped 25% in 2024 to a record 17 million-plus vehicles, according to Reuters.
While Texas-based Tesla is the global leader in EV sales, China has an impressive roster of companies putting out cutting-edge tech that's augmented with artificially intelligent software.
NIO's EVs — ahem, EIVs — include an AI dashboard-based assistant that has eyes and interacts with the driver. It can help to navigate the vehicle into the company's unique battery swap stations.
Business Insider reported that smartphone maker Xiaomi has developed an EIV that includes voice-recognition software and the ability to control household appliances while on the road. Xpeng, a startup, is marketing its P7+ as being "AI defined." The cleaner rides also come at more affordable prices, with some starting at $26,000, all per Business Insider.
And BYD, a company annually sparring with Tesla for the top EV sales spot, intends to pump $14 billion into AI features and self-driving tech, the report added.
Analyst Zoe Zhang, from London energy consultancy firm Rho Motion, told Business Insider that EVs are easier to incorporate AI functions into compared to internal combustion rides, "because of the chips."
If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you?
Cost
Battery range
Power and speed
The way it looks
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
The advancements arrive as many of the long-held EV stress points are vanishing. Battery fires are less likely than gas-engine blazes, according to Motor Trend and other publications. Hundreds of miles of range, and minutes-long charge times, are eliminating logistical fears.
Tesla's 60,000-plus network of global Superchargers can provide 200 miles in 15 minutes, for reference.
And while about 30 million tons of minerals are forecast to be needed annually to power the transition to a cleaner future, that pales in comparison to the 15 billion tons of fossil fuels already mined from Earth each year, according to Sustainability by Numbers.
Each EV that replaces a gas-burner prevents thousands of pounds of heat-trapping air pollution each year, as noted by U.S. Department of Energy data, driving home the point that EVs are more sustainable long-term options. Preventing the fumes is important, as the pollution is linked by NASA to increased risks for severe weather.
Whatever you call them, switching to an EV or EIV can save you around $1,500 per year in gas and maintenance costs, too. That's not mentioning up to $7,500 in tax incentives that remain available.
"I think more and more, the car manufacturers are going to be really competing over the user experience," Zhang told Business Insider.
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