Chongqing Changan Automobile Co announced last week that all its vehicles produced starting from 2020 will have access to the
internet-the most ambitious plan made by any Chinese carmaker in terms
of connectivity.
Among other things, the vehicles will have their software updated online
and problems diagnosed remotely, and by 2025, all of Changan's vehicles
will feature voice control, according to the Chongqing-headquartered
carmaker.
The strategy was unveiled months after Changan partnered with Chinese
tech giants, including Tencent Holdings Co and Huawei Technologies Co,
to develop its vehicle operating systems.
"Clearly, vehicles are evolving from transport tools to smart mobile
platforms that facilitate people's life and work," said Changan
President Zhu Huarong.
Changan was also one of the first Chinese carmakers to test autonomous
driving, with its fleet of Level 3, or hands-off, cars, finishing a
2,000-kilometer test in China back in 2016. It has also obtained a
license to test its vehicles in the United States.
According to Changan, by 2025, it will offer Level 4, or eyes-off-road,
autonomous cars that are capable of real dialogues with drivers.
Xiao Yong, deputy general manager of GAC New Energy Automobile Co, a subsidiary of Guangzhou-based GAC Group, shares the same belief that
future vehicles must be smart.
"Just connected cars have no future at all. The future belongs to
artificial intelligence-based cars," said Xiao when speaking of one of
the major selling points of the company's latest GE3 530 model.
The electric vehicle, scheduled to hit the market later this week, features an operating system co-developed by GAC and Tencent, which is
able to have almost natural conversations with drivers and passengers.
If the operating system is told it is hot inside the car, the system
will automatically lower the temperature two degrees at a time. Give the
name of a singer or a song, it will search the music in Tencent's
database and play it, and tell it you want to go home and it
will-navigate the best route back to your address.
