China EV makers push self-driving to counter Tesla

Major brands unveil their latest offerings at Guangzhou auto show, some tapping Al

Autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI) are the buzzwords at this week's Guangzhou auto show - the last major gathering of Chinese carmakers for the year.

With US billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla aiming to bring what it markets as full self-driving to China in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval, domestic electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are telling customers that their advanced driver-assistance systems (Adas) - which can navigate highways or busy city streets - are coming very soon, if they are not already here.

Last week, Xiaomi chairman Lei Iun conducted a live-stream test drive of the SU7 EV, going from "parking spot to parking spot".

The feature is inspired by Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) end-toend technology, which uses cameras and large AI models to make real-time driving decisions, rather than relying on engineers to code rules to simulate driving, Mr Lei said.