Collaboration urged as EV market contest heats up

As China's smart electric vehicle market sees fiercer competition than ever, auto executives have called for collaboration and efforts to build an open ecosystem.

At the 2024 Man Machine Mobility conference in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Saturday, Xiaomi Auto CEO Lei Jun advocated for an open and cooperative ecosystem, encouraging industry-wide sharing and collaboration.

Lei gave an example of Xiaomi's rear-seat screen, which have multiple interface standards. He emphasized that making these standards available to other companies would help resource sharing, enhancing user-friendliness in Chinese cars and benefiting the entire industry.

Xiaomi received 88,000 orders and delivered more than 15,000 units in the first two months since its first model SU7 hit the market, surpassing Lei's predictions.

Lei added that its factory has been working in two shifts to ensure the delivery of 10,000 units in June and 100,000 units for the year, but it hopes to achieve 120,000 units in 2024.

Lei credited Xiaomi's success to core technology breakthroughs and user insights, highlighting their smart driving tech developed in-house.

He stated that today's cars are predominantly electronic, and Xiaomi's 14 years in consumer electronics enabled them to develop a car within three years.

Nio CEO William Li reiterated the company's open approach to battery swapping infrastructure at the Shenzhen event. He said that Nio is willing to offer services related to battery swapping to provide a better experience than charging for customers.

The New York-listed startup received a 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) investment in its battery swapping and charging business on Friday. Its battery alliance now includes seven major carmakers like Geely and Changan.

Li said that after eight to 10 years, many EV owners will face battery end-of-life issues. Nio aims to ensure 15 years of worry-free battery life, with batteries retaining 85 percent capacity after 15 years, supported by its swapping network.

Tech giant Huawei is making waves in the auto industry with its Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, or HIMA, collaborating with partners such as Seres, Chery, JAC and BAIC to boost production and sales.

Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei's intelligent automotive solutions business unit, highlighted Huawei's focus on five key areas in the automotive sector: intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, intelligent electric control, intelligent vehicle control and intelligent connectivity.

By May 19, sales of HIMA vehicles reached 134,000 units. Yu said that despite a temporary sales decline due to product upgrades in May, Huawei anticipates rapid growth from June onwards. Monthly deliveries are expected to exceed 40,000 units in June and aim for 50,000 units in the following months.

Leapmotor has partnered with the European auto group Stellantis for overseas expansion, leveraging its ownership of more than 30 factories and 10,000 dealership partners globally.

The startup plans to enter nine European countries and expand to South America, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific by the end of the year.

Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming said that Leapmotor's competitive batteries, motors and electric control systems will be supplied to Stellantis and other carmakers in the future.

The 2024 Man Machine Mobility conference is part of the ongoing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay International Auto Show, held from June 1 to 9.

The auto show in Shenzhen has been upgraded to an international A-class event this year, attracting approximately 100 auto brands who are presenting more than 1,000 models.