China’s Great Wall Motor and Zeekr are showcasing their new vehicles with assisted driving technologies and artificial intelligence-driven digital cockpit software at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, referring to themselves as global AI tech companies rather than just car manufacturers.
Why it matters: The public displays of new technologies by Great Wall Motor, a partner of BMW in China, and Zeekr, a New York-listed electric vehicle maker, are rare moves among Chinese automakers, expressing their aspirations to become tech leaders in the global auto industry.
- Having been major partners of NVIDIA for years, the two companies are developing automated driving systems powered by the US chipmaker’s next-generation centralized car computer “Thor.” Many of their models also use “cockpit” chips from Qualcomm to enable information and entertainment functions.
- NVIDIA chief executive Jensen Huang said on Monday that the company has started full production of the Thor, which will be capable of processing data from various sensors including cameras, radar, and lidar, as well as predicting the next path for self-driving cars. Each DRIVE AGX Thor could deliver 1,000 TOPs of performance.
Details: CES 2025 saw the debut of what Zeekr described as the world’s first intelligent driving domain controller based on NVIDIA’s DRIVE AGX Thor computing platform made by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
- The autonomous driving controller allows Zeekr’s in-car system to process data collected from up to 14 high-definition cameras monitoring traffic conditions, a significant boost to the car’s sensing capability. Its first model powered by Thor, a hybrid sports utility vehicle, will be launched later this year.
- Zeekr, a subsidiary of Geely, will begin exporting its 7X crossovers in the next few months, its first model featuring 800-voltage charging architecture set to be available to global buyers. Over 1,000 ultra-fast chargers will come into operation for Zeekr buyers in countries including Thailand, Australia, and Brazil, by the end of the year, the company said.
- Great Wall Motor comes to CES for the first time this year with its WEY 07 flagship SUV, powered by NVIDIA’s current-generation semiconductor Orin and featuring an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) for various traffic scenarios such as expressways and city streets.
- The automaker, based in the northern Chinese city of Baoding, sold more than 32,000 Blue Mountain SUVs, the Chinese version of the WEY 07 at a starting price of RMB 299,800 ($49,893), in just four months following the launch in August. It also invested in Deeproute.ai, a Chinese self-driving car startup, last year.
- Nicole Wu, chief technology officer of Great Wall Motor, said the company is working on an AI agent with spatial intelligence that integrates three-dimensional sensing data, processes human language such as voice messages, and outputs driving commands such as braking and steering smoothly and efficiently.
READ MORE: Great Wall Motor reveals more about its in-car OS, self-driving, and GPT
Context: More than 1,300 Chinese companies showcased their latest offerings at the world’s largest consumer electronic trade show this year, accounting for approximately 30% of all the exhibitors, although many workers from those companies reportedly faced US visa denials despite holding invitations to attend.
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