Cars are the next major prize in the battle for digital territory, industry insiders say, and the deep pockets and data muscle of big Chinese tech firms will fuel even faster growth in “smart-electric” vehicles – and possibly hasten the arrival of autonomous cars.
The first major auto industry gathering of the year opens to the public Wednesday with the global sector looking to China – the world’s biggest and most rapidly electrifying auto market – to lead the way into a post-pandemic future. China’s government expects new-energy vehicles – which integrate the most advanced driving technology – to comprise 25% of car sales by 2025, and recent announcements appear to bode well.Xiaomi, which has rapidly become one of the world’s biggest smartphone suppliers, plans to invest US$10bil over the next decade in a smart EV subsidiary, and Huawei will invest US$1bil this year.
Huawei has realised its current “market limitations”, said Chen Yusheng, chief technology officer for procurement analysis firm Shanghai Autodatas Co.