Tesla’s bid to launch self-driving cars in China pushes rivals to race ahead

Tesla could prove a erce competitor in China’s autonomous-vehicle segment, but it faces potent rivals including BYD and Huawei that have rolled out systems to navigate China’s densely packed urban areas; ocials hope competition from Tesla would make Chin

f Tesla succeeds in bringing its “Full SelfDriving” system to China, the world’s largest car market, the U.S. electric-car pioneer will be shifting into the fast lane of the global race toward autonomous vehicles.

On a whirlwind trip to Beijing starting Sunday, Mr. Musk came to discuss the potential rollout of its FSD driver-assistance system and the possibility of securing government approvals for overseas transfers of data from Tesla vehicles in China, according to a source with knowledge of the trip.

Such data, used to train self-driving systems, would boost Tesla’s long-term efforts to produce fully autonomous vehicles.

As it did with electric cars, Tesla could prove a erce competitor in China’s autonomous-vehicle segment, industry analysts and executives say, citing its early lead in developing driver-assistance systems with some autonomous features.

But Tesla faces potent rivals including BYD, China’s largest EV maker, and Huawei, a smartphone maker emerging as a national tech champion, that have rolled out systems designed

Ito navigate China’s densely packed urban landscapes.

Those two giants are among at least 10 automakers and suppliers that have unveiled driver-assistance systems over the past two years that can navigate city streets and make turns at intersections. Others include EV makers ◣peng and Li Auto, and ◣iaomi, the smartphone maker that recently introduced its rst car, an instant hit.

Any new model priced at more than $30,000 in China now needs advanced driver-assistance features to compete, said Maxwell Zhou, co-founder of DeepRoute.ai, a Chinabased startup selling software for advanced driverassistance systems.

“You must have a highlevel driving solution to prove you have a smart car, not a stupid car,” Mr. Zhou told Reuters.

◣peng has said it plans to launch a new mass-market brand, Mona, with selfdriving features on a car priced below $21,000. That’s more than $10,000 cheaper than the China price of Tesla’s Model 3.

Many industry experts expect it will take years before fully autonomous cars are commonplace, but predictions vary widely.

Driver-assistance features now o—ered in China are “level two” systems, meaning they require a driver ready to take over. Tesla’s FSD and its less-advanced options of Autopilot, are also level-two systems requiring attentive drivers.

More fully automated vehicle ¦eets operated by Baidu, China’s biggest search engine operator, and Pony.ai, an autonomous driving startup, run in limited test zones.

‘Cat sh e ect’

Tesla’s push to roll out FSD in China would “pressure other EV start-ups to accelerate their research and development”, said Yale

Zhang, managing director at Automotive Foresight.

China saw the same dynamic in electric-vehicle development when its government approved Tesla to open a Shanghai plant in 2018. At the time, o¨cials hoped for what they called a “catsh e—ect”—that dropping a big catsh, Tesla, in the tank would make the other sh, China EV makers, swim faster.

China’s industry responded. BYD, the nation’s EV leader, has since introduced a slew of models at all price points—starting below $10,000—as its China EV sales exploded from just over 105,000 in 2018 to more than 1.5 million last year.

Mr. Zhang said Tesla’s autonomous-vehicle development in China could have the same impact: “It would be the ‘catsh effect’ for the second half of the game.”

‘Disruptive’

At the Beijing auto show that opened last week, Chinese automakers and suppliers touted “level-twoplus” driver-assistance systems with more advanced sensors and displays. While they are not cleared by regulators for hands-o—the-wheel driving, some are designed to be with future software upgrades.

While Tesla relies only on cameras to detect hazards around self-driving cars, other automakers are rolling out systems that include lidar, which uses pulses of light to detect objects.

Huawei showed o— components from telematics receivers that work with both the U.S.-backed GPS system and China’s rival BeiDou satellite system, along with lidar and optical sensors, for advanced driving systems.

The Chinese tech giant aims to compete with other major suppliers of such systems including Bosch and Continental . Bosch welcomes the competition, said Markus Heyn, a Bosch board member. “It’s good for the market,” he said. “We love doing innovative and disruptive stu—.”

Tesla could be among the toughest competitors, in part because of its ability to collect data from its vehicles—the world’s largest ¦eet of EVs currently on roads. However, under Beijing’s data security rules, it cannot transfer data from its cars in China o—shore without approvals.

◣peng Motors CEO He ◣iaopeng said that a move by Tesla to launch FSD in China could intensify what he predicted would be a decade-long battle for dominance of “smart EVs”.

China won’t be the only battleeld. It’s critical for China’s self-driving technology industry, Mr. He said, to start “making its mark on international markets outside its own turf.”

You must have a high-level driving solution to prove you have a smart car, not a stupid car MA◣WELL ZHOU co-founder of DeepRoute.ai

REUTERS Big fish: Tesla is among the toughest competitors given its ability to collect data from vehicles.