According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla’s sales in China fell by 5.4% in the first half of this year, although it remained third in new energy vehicle sales, behind BYD and Geely.
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Beijing – Tesla After reporting yet another disappointing quarterly results, Chief Executive Elon Musk once again touted the imminent launch of advanced driver assistance software in China.
Since last year, assisted driving has become a selling point of cars in the fiercely competitive Chinese electric vehicle market. Chinese authorities have also begun supporting some companies in using limited driver assistance technology on the road.
Tesla’s Autopilot for highway navigation is available locally but does not support Full Self-Driving, which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to allow the car to automatically park, change lanes and slow down at stop signs. FSD is an upgraded version of Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistant. For interested customers, Tesla has been offering limited editions of its FSD technology in China for several years.
Musk said on the second-quarter earnings call: “Soon, we will ask regulators in Europe, China and other countries to approve Tesla-regulated FSD. I think we will probably receive approval before the end of this year.” Wednesday Beijing time. This is based on FactSet records.
Musk has long promised investors that future Tesla products or services would be ready soon, even if they didn’t exist outside of design concepts. During his latest earnings call, he announced that Tesla’s robotaxi event would be postponed to October, after previously saying it would take place in August.
Musk said that in April he said FSD could be launched in China soon. Answer the question about X.
About a week after the social media post, Musk made a surprise appearance in Beijing to meet with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang at the city’s first major auto show in four years. Local authorities also lifted restrictions on Tesla vehicles after its China-made vehicles passed domestic data security requirements.
Fully autonomous driving is currently only available in the United States and Canada. China accounts for about 22% of Tesla sales.
Tesla does not yet produce or sell a car capable of fully autonomous driving. It sells “Level 2” driver assistance systems, marketed under the FSD brand. Chinese companies often label their versions with the word “navigation”.
Musk’s company is being sued in the United States by the California Department of Motor Vehicles for false advertising of Autopilot and fully autonomous driving assistance systems.
Tesla responded that the DMV has been aware of its use of these brand names for years but chose not to take action. The company argued that California’s law regarding advertising of self-driving systems violates free speech.
China driving assistance competition
Companies ranging from tech giant Huawei to electric vehicle startups Xpeng Motors Selling driver assistance features in China. Xpeng Motors expanded its driving assistance software to Shanghai city streets in March 2023 and then to Beijing.
“Tesla’s current FSD technology lags somewhat behind what its competitors are offering in China,” said Shay Natarajan, North America partner at Mobility Impact Partners, a private equity fund that invests in the transportation sector.
“When comparing Tesla’s FSD with other L2 autonomous driving products in China, I see two main conclusions,” she said. “Nioh It is a leader in autonomous driving technology. Their sensory input includes cameras, radar, lidar and ultrasonic sensors. It’s the best in the world and brings very high precision and redundancy in the ability to sense your surroundings.
Natarajan pointed out that Nio’s driver assistance features cost about $55 per month, which is about half of Tesla’s FSD in the United States.
Tesla has recently made major changes to its driver assistance software, sold in the United States as Autopilot and FSD-S (Full Self-Driving Supervision), earning excitement and praise from the automaker’s many fans and owners.
—CNBC’s Ryan Browne and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that limited editions of Tesla FSD products are now available in China.
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