Last year, Chinese automakers produced 22.9 million cars, including hybrids and electric cars. This year, according to market participants, in China, about 15 million cars equipped with active assistance systems of the second -level autonomy for the SAE classification will leave for public roads. Such a basic autopilot will be prescribed even on cars worth less than $ 14,000.
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Reducing prices for advanced functions of assistance to the driver will become possible thanks to the massive market coverage. The second level of autonomy implies that the driver must hold his hands on the steering wheel the main part of the trip and not take his eyes off the road, but to gain speed, slow down and perform simple maneuvers, the car can automatically. Now such functions are available mainly on machines, which in China cost about $ 20,000, at least.
According to representatives of the China EV100 industry association, this year two -thirds of cars sold in China will be equipped with a second -level autopilot. The presence of such functionality for local car manufacturers will be a new way to attract customers in conditions of incredibly fierce competition. The third level of autonomy according to the SAE classification allows the driver not to hold behind the wheel, the fourth no longer requires constant control over road conditions, but retains the possibility of moving control to a person. Finally, the fifth level deprives the driver of the usual governing bodies and actually turns it into a passenger.
According to some forecasts, the transfer of cargo vehicles to the use of autopilot in China will allow us to save $ 250 billion a year annually by 2030 to wages of drivers. Accordingly, logistics companies will be able to save more on the delivery of goods, and this will help the Chinese economy as a whole great. In the passenger segment, the presence of autopilot will increase the attractiveness of new models for the young generation of Chinese drivers. The cost of a set of equipment and software for the implementation of modern functions of active assistance to the driver in recent years has decreased to $ 1,400 per car. Lidar costs no more than $ 200, while five years ago its value was measured by thousands of US dollars. In the struggle for the Chinese market, local automakers will be forced to democratize the autopilot.