EV firms face driverless-tech crackdown, launch Tesla ‘killers'

More than 70 Chinese and international automotive brands will showcase more than 100 new or refreshed models at the Shanghai auto show this week, intensifying already cutthroat competition in the world’s premier market for electric vehicles and hybrids.

- VICTORIA WALDERSEE ZHANG YAN

Top-selling Chinese brands such as BYD and Geely are expected to take centre stage at the show from tomorrow to May 2, while foreign automakers such as Volkswagen, Nissan, Toyota and General Motors’ Cadillac brand will also jostle for attention.

As a years-long consumer price war in China drags on, next-generation automated-driving features have become the next front in the battle for vehicle sales and profits.

But automakers’ plans to tout next-generation driver-assistance systems in Shanghai have been upended by a government crackdown on marketing claims using terms such as “smart” or “autonomous” to describe their technology after a fatal crash of Xiaomi SU7 in March.

The Chinese electric sport sedan struck a cement pole and caught fire, killing three people, shortly after the driver tried to take over from the car’s assisted-driving system.

The launch of the SU7 shortly before last year’s Beijing auto show created a sensation, and it has since sold more than 215,000 vehicles, outpacing monthly sales of Tesla’s Model 3 since December.

The resulting government scrutiny has Chinese automakers such as BYD and Zeekr scrambling to revise their marketing presentations, veering away from boasts about automated-driving capabilities and instead emphasising driver caution.

Driver-assistance systems have become a critical tool for automakers to differentiate themselves in China's crowded EV market.