BEIJING — Zeekr, a Chinese electric car company, is providing its advanced driver-assistance capabilities to local customers free of charge as the competition in the electric vehicle market heats up. Zeekr CEO Andy An announced the move to CNBC ahead of a launch event held on Tuesday.
The technology enables vehicles to operate in a near-autonomous mode between pre-set destinations. Drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel, and regulatory approval is necessary, which is increasingly common in most major Chinese cities.
This move follows Tesla’s efforts to attract more buyers of its Full Self Driving system in China. Recently, some Chinese social media users noted that Tesla was offering its driver-assistance system for free to some users through April 16, following initial criticism it was too expensive. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zeekr plans to introduce its system initially to a pilot group, then release it to the public in April. “Right now, in this period of development, I think subscriptions aren’t that meaningful,” CEO An said in a CNBC interview, translated from his Mandarin-language remarks. The company aims to close the gap on driver assistance with market leaders and become a top player, requiring Zeekr to absorb some costs.
According to CEO An, Zeekr’s driver-assistance system uses two Nvidia Orin X chipsets and one lidar unit. A future iteration of the system will incorporate Nvidia’s more advanced Thor automotive chip, one long-range lidar, and four shorter-range lidar units. He stated that the driver-assistance systems for Zeekr cars sold overseas will not use Nvidia chips currently.
Zeekr’s driver-assistance system will also be used for Lynk & Co.’s cars and potentially vehicles from parent company Geely. Zeekr officially acquired Lynk & Co. this year.
Over the last two years, driver assistance has become an increasingly important selling point for new energy vehicles in China. Other manufacturers are also advancing in this area.
BYD announced in February that it was rolling out driver-assist capabilities to more than 20 of its car models. Xpeng has delivered over 30,000 cars a month since November, in part due to its P7+ car. Nio has advertised driver-assistance features with no current charges.
