EV makers up the ante in AI use

Themis Qi

China's electric vehicle makers including BYD (1211) and Geely Automobile (0175) are rushing out artificial intelligence-driven strategies in an attempt to get ahead of their rivals amid a bitter price war.

Geely chief executive Gan Jiayue said on Sunday that the company would unveil its AI strategy next month with a goal to lead the automobile industry in adopting smart driving technologies, mainland media IT Home reported.

Last week, Geely said its self-developed AI model had been deeply integrated with the DeepSeek R1 model to facilitate AI applications in the automobile industry.

Geely was also the first Chinese carmakers to take advantage of the low-cost and open-source product that triggered a sell-off of US chip giant Nvidia's shares around the Chinese New Year.

About 20 carmakers have now adopted of DeepSeek models in smart cabinet or AI operations, according to Cailian Press.

Meanwhile, BYD was scheduled to release its advanced intelligent driving system God's Eye yesterday in Shenzhen.

The system is expected to help drivers in scenarios varying from highways to car parking lots.

BYD said it hopes God's Eye would make it easier for all drivers to access intelligent driving technologies, which sparked speculation that vehicles priced below 100,000 yuan (HK$106,631) could be equipped with it.

On Sunday, state-backed Changan Automobile announced it would fully transition to intelligent passenger vehicles. Changan plans to stop launching non-intelligent cars from this year and to release 35 smart passenger models in three years.

Investors have been excited by the new AI theme in China's EV sector following fierce price wars over the past years, with BYD and its subsidiary BYD Electronic (0285) surging about 20 percent in Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday of last week.

Even smart driving chip developer Black Sesame International (2533) once jumped over 50 percent last week on rumors that it was a supplier for BYD's new system, before plunging nearly 40 percent yesterday after it clarified that the supplies was part of its usual business.