{"id":629732,"date":"2026-04-26T11:44:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/629732\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T11:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:44:23","slug":"after-call-from-beijing-chinas-auto-industry-races-to-embed-ai-in-just-about-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/629732\/","title":{"rendered":"After call from Beijing, China\u2019s auto industry races to embed AI in just about everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

People walk past IRON, a female\u2011shaped humanoid robot, on display at the Xpeng booth during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China) in Beijing, April 24, 2026.Maxim Shemetov\/Reuters<\/p>\n

It took China 25 years to dominate the market for electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Now, the country\u2019s auto industry is hurtling toward the next disruption: Embedding artificial intelligence in cars that will make the next generation of EVs not just network-connected, but self-reasoning machines running on Chinese chips and software.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s most recent five-year plan released earlier this year presented a blueprint for \u201cAI Plus,\u201d a national project to embed AI systems into manufacturing, healthcare and almost every other corner of the economy.<\/p>\n

Part of that aim is to break China\u2019s dependence on high-end semiconductors – a trade chokepoint dominated by the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no longer a distinction between a technology company and a car company,\u201d Nissan Motor China chief Stephen Ma told reporters on the sidelines of the Beijing Auto Show, which kicked off on Friday. \u201cThe AI-developed vehicle is much faster and it\u2019s quicker in China.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chinese carmaker Chery eyes expansion into the Canadian EV market<\/a><\/p>\n

In recent days, Chinese automakers and their suppliers have flooded the zone with investment commitments and new AI systems. Some of the immediate applications seemed incremental. Analysts say the longer-term stakes are huge.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s automakers are now so advanced they are upending the global car industry, said Francois Roudier, secretary general of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, a federation of trade groups that represents the world\u2019s auto industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no transition,\u201d Roudier told Reuters in Beijing. \u201cIt\u2019s a revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng speaks at the launch of the Xpeng GX on the opening day of the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 24, 2026.DANAI HOWARD\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

THE CAR IS THE AGENT<\/p>\n

Xpeng has said its updated AI model allows drivers to give the car commands – like, \u201cpark near the entrance to the shopping center\u201d – rather than designating a spot on a map. Xpeng vehicles can use cameras to navigate even without mapping or coordinates.<\/p>\n

Xiaomi, an appliance and phone maker that stormed into the EV business three years ago, released an updated AI model just after midnight on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Xiaomi has said its AI-empowered HyperOS operating system in its cars would allow drivers to task the system with complicated to-do lists, making restaurant reservations, placing coffee orders and compiling notes from the road. The system could also detect when drivers seem stressed or agitated and adjust the lighting and music for their arrival at home.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A Xiaomi SU7 is displayed on the opening day of the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 24, 2026.-\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much focus on AI in other parts of the world has been on how can we use it to improve business? That\u2019s not what Chinese automakers are talking about,\u201d said Dan Hearsch, global co-leader for automotive at advisory firm AlixPartners. \u201cThe AI they\u2019re building in is going to make the car easier to drive, easier to interact with, easier to do all of the things that otherwise take effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huawei, which has pivoted from its traditional focus on telecommunications to develop businesses in chips, AI and connected cars, said it would invest more than $10 billion over the next five years to boost computing power for smart driving.<\/p>\n

While automotive sales make up a relatively small part of Huawei\u2019s portfolio, it remains the company\u2019s fastest-growing segment.<\/p>\n

Just before the auto show started, Horizon Robotics, a Chinese chipmaker that competes with Qualcomm, launched its Starry 6 processor that integrates cockpit and driving functions with the ability to handle up to 12 screen displays in a vehicle.<\/p>\n

A number of Chinese EV companies have been chasing Tesla by designing their own chips to reduce a reliance on Nvidia. That includes Xpeng, Li Auto, BYD , Geely and Leapmotor.<\/p>\n

NIO, which spun off its chip unit, sees developing its own semiconductors as a way to reduce costs and boost earnings by swapping out Nvidia, CEO William Li said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are open to the whole industry and we welcome them to use (our chips),\u201d Li told Reuters.<\/p>\n

Some automakers used the Beijing auto show to demonstrate that they heard Beijing\u2019s message on strategic innovation loud and clear. Dongfeng Motor – one of the Big Four state-owned carmakers – said it would be building cars using \u201cembodied AI technology\u201d in line with China\u2019s long-term plans for the sector.<\/p>\n

Dongfeng has been working with Huawei on smart driving systems to compete with privately owned rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the nation calls, Dongfeng answers,\u201d Chairman Yang Qing said.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Ju-min Park, David Dolan, Nick Carey, Pan Che and Zhang Yan in Beijing; Writing by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: People walk past IRON, a female\u2011shaped humanoid robot, on display at the Xpeng…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[62,901,276,277,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-629732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-alberta","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-artificialintelligence","12":"tag-arts-news","13":"tag-bc","14":"tag-breaking-news","15":"tag-breaking-news-video","16":"tag-british-columbia","17":"tag-ca","18":"tag-canada","19":"tag-canada-news","20":"tag-canada-sports","21":"tag-canada-sports-news","22":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","23":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","24":"tag-canadian-news","25":"tag-economy","26":"tag-education","27":"tag-environment","28":"tag-federal-government","29":"tag-foreign-news","30":"tag-globe-and-mail","31":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","32":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","33":"tag-government","34":"tag-life-news","35":"tag-lifestyle","36":"tag-local-news","37":"tag-manitoba","38":"tag-national-news","39":"tag-new-brunswick","40":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","41":"tag-northwest-territories","42":"tag-nova-scotia","43":"tag-nunavut","44":"tag-ontario","45":"tag-pei","46":"tag-photos","47":"tag-political-news","48":"tag-political-opinion","49":"tag-politics","50":"tag-politics-news","51":"tag-quebec","52":"tag-sports-news","53":"tag-technology","54":"tag-travel","55":"tag-trudeau","56":"tag-us-news","57":"tag-world-news","58":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}