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Electric and Concept Cars
Business Fortune
30 April, 2024
Tesla's self-driving bid for China faces competition in the world's largest auto market.
Someone who knows about the trip says that Musk went to Beijing quickly to discuss launching its FSD driver-assistance system and getting government permissions for data transfers from Tesla vehicles in China.
Tesla's long-term efforts to produce fully autonomous vehicles would benefit from the use of such data in training self-driving systems. Industry experts and executives believe that Tesla, with its head start in driver-assistance systems and autonomous features, could become a strong competitor in China's autonomous vehicle market, similar to its success in electric cars. BYD and Huawei are strong competitors of Tesla in China. They have introduced systems to handle China's congested urban environments.
In the last two years, around ten car manufacturers and suppliers have developed driver-assistance systems that can navigate through city streets and make turns at intersections. These two massive companies are among them. EV manufacturers Xpeng and Li Auto are among the others, as is Xiaomi, a smartphone manufacturer that just unveiled its first car, which gained immediate popularity.
In China, new car models priced over $30,000 must include advanced driver-assistance features to stay competitive, says Maxwell Zhou, co-founder of DeepRoute.ai, a Chinese company selling software for these systems. According to Xpeng, it intends to introduce Mona, a new mass-market brand with self-driving capabilities on cars, for around $21,000. That is over $10,000 less than what Tesla's Model 3 would cost in China.
Predictions vary greatly, but many industry experts believe it will take years before fully autonomous cars are widely used. China is now offering "level two" driver assistance functions, which means a driver must be prepared to take over. Level-two systems that demand careful driving include Tesla's FSD and its less sophisticated Autopilot alternatives.
Pony.ai and Baidu use limited test zones in China to operate fleets of fully automated vehicles.