The advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), has ushered in the era of connected, autonomous, shared, and electric (CASE) mobility trend. This has led to a highly competitive automotive industry in China, as highlighted in a recent report from IDC China entitled, “Autonomous Driving Capabilities Assessment, 2024.” The report delves into the progress of autonomous driving technology and assesses the autonomous driving features of six major vehicle brands in the region.
The Market Advances
Advancements in algorithm performance, computing power, and data development have propelled the autonomous driving market into a new phase of development. Notably, the application of the Transformer model in autonomous driving engineering projects has significantly improved perception performance, while the adoption of high-performance neural processing units (NPUs) has provided strong support for running complex models in the realm of autonomous driving.
Impact of Data Development
The optimization of data development and model training efficiency has notably accelerated software iteration within the industry. The concept of closed-loop data has facilitated the automation and efficiency of the whole data processing process, resulting in the significant acceleration of software iteration and multiple iterations in a day becoming possible.
Insights from IDC China
According to Catherine Hong, senior market analyst for IDC China, the escalating investment in autonomous driving, continuous enhancement of chip processing power, and rapid software iteration have propelled the China autonomous driving market into a new phase of development. The increasing competition within this market highlights the significance of sustained investment in research and development of autonomous driving technology, effective management of autonomous driving data assets, and continuous enhancement of product performance and reliability for car makers to establish competitive advantages in this field.
Evaluation of Autonomous Driving Features
In assessing the autonomous driving experience offered by automotive OEMs, IDC focused on the enhanced Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) features of six major vehicle brands in China, namely AITO, JI YUE, Li Auto, NIO, Tesla, and XPeng. The evaluation particularly looked into parking, Lane Centering Control (LCC), and Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) features.
Room for Improvement
The evaluation found that the penetration rate of advanced autonomous driving functions of most brands requires improvement. Although the brands demonstrated high success rates in automatic parking in standard parking spaces, there is still room for improvement in their flexible response capability in the face of changes in the parking environment and other situations. Furthermore, while all the brands have relatively high completion in highway NOA, most systems face challenges in complex traffic situations in urban areas.
Future Outlook
With the increased adoption of autonomous driving functions and the improvement of advanced autonomous driving capabilities, car makers are expected to engage in fierce competition in this field. Investment in autonomous driving has become a certain trend, and companies are urged to accelerate their investment in this field to participate in market competition and stay ahead of competitors.
Insights from IDC
Sandeep Mukunda, Research Manager, Sustainable Mobility and Transportation Strategies at IDC, emphasized the significant fast-tracking of global autonomous vehicle development efforts due to the introduction of Generative AI capabilities in AV development. The introduction of foundation and large language models in AV development has enabled highly accurate and robust perception, virtual test case generation, and voice-based assistance, among other processes across AV life cycle.
The IDC Report
The report, “Autonomous Driving Capabilities Assessment, 2024” provides a comprehensive evaluation of the autonomous driving capabilities of six major vehicle brands in China. It is based on research interviews and on-road testing with leading and professional car makers, as well as a series of secondary data analysis, including comments and analysis by global industry experts and technical insights from global academia.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With over 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries.
In conclusion, the automotive industry in China is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in autonomous driving technology. As car makers continue to enhance their autonomous driving capabilities, the market is poised for increased competition, technological innovation, and improved consumer experiences.