PART 1 Weekly Index
PART 2 Weekly News
① Tesla’s Autopilot Functionality Gets an Upgrade
“In North America, Tesla Model 3 and Y will soon be able to recognize ‘traffic lights’ and ‘stop signs’ and can come to a stop at the stop line automatically.”
Here are some key points:
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As the vehicle approaches a red light or stop line, the information of the road intersection will be displayed on the vehicle screen in advance. Even if the intersection is green, the vehicle will gradually slow down and stop at the red line displayed on the vehicle screen. “The driver needs to gently tap the accelerator pedal or shift the gear lever in advance to resume cruising.”
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Similarly, after the vehicle stops at a red light or stop line, the driver needs to gently tap the accelerator pedal or shift the gear lever in order to resume cruising.
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In the case of flashing yellow or green lights, if the vehicle does not recognize the stop line (when it has already crossed the line), the vehicle will continue to pass through the intersection. If the vehicle recognizes the stop line (when it has not yet crossed the line), the vehicle will stop automatically.
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“GPS map data does not include all traffic lights and parking signs. The judgment of traffic lights and parking signs largely depends on the information perceived by the camera. Therefore, once there is a large vehicle or a tree obstructing the camera, the vehicle cannot judge the intersection information.”
Quick Comment: This update is first applied to Model 3 and Model Y models and “a prerequisite is that you have activated the FSD function.” In addition, from the perspective of algorithm, computing power, and matching with the vehicle model, “it should be matched with the HW3.0 chip.” Functionally, this update is relatively conservative.
According to the update log of Tesla’s new version of the software, this functionality is not only based on the visual perception identification of the front camera but also combines GPS map data. Considering the current map situation of Tesla in China and the current laws and regulations in China, it is estimated that this feature upgrade will take some time to go online in China.
② NIO Will Focus on Battery Swapping.NIO Vice President Shen Fei announced at a media communication meeting that the NIO 100 kWh battery will officially arrive in Q4 this year. At the same time, they will launch exclusive fast-charging piles and NIO-exclusive piles 2.0. In addition, they plan to add at least 50 battery swapping stations this year.
Furthermore, Mr. Shen Fei revealed at the meeting that the strategy of NIO is to focus on battery swapping, with supercharging as a supplement. Future battery swapping stations will be compatible with at least three battery specifications, but they will try to control it to about two specifications.
Quick comment: Finally, the 100 kWh battery is about to come in Q4. We look forward to seeing how much improvement it can bring to vehicles. In addition, old car owners can upgrade the battery by paying the corresponding difference.
Also worth mentioning is that currently, many swapping stations can only provide 70 kWh batteries, which will be even more embarrassing after the appearance of three battery capacities. Therefore, at the meeting, Mr. Shen Fei also mentioned that, for various reasons, they want to try to keep two battery specifications in swapping stations as much as possible. The specific plan has not been revealed yet. However, which one of the three specifications of 70 kWh, 84 kWh, and 100 kWh will be retired, what do you think?
③ BYD and Toyota joint venture established
On March 25, BYD Toyota EV Technology Co., Ltd. was officially registered and established in Pingshan District, Shenzhen. According to Qichacha, the registered capital of the company is RMB 345 million, with Toyota Motor Corporation and BYD Co., Ltd. each holding 50%.
The legal representative of the company is Zhao Binggen, the General Manager of BYD Automobile Institute, and the Chairman is Akio Toyoda, the President of Toyota’s global powertrain company. The company’s business scope includes the design and development of pure electric vehicles and their derivative vehicles, the import and export of parts, components, and assemblies for pure electric vehicles and their derivative vehicles, as well as sales, after-sales service, and related consulting.
Quick comment: Previously, BYD Senior Vice President Lian Yubo stated that they hope to achieve cooperation with Toyota in terms of “competitiveness in the pure electric vehicle market” and “research and development capabilities” through this cooperation.
The establishment of this company also means that, together with Toyota’s previous Toyota Automotive Research and Development Center in Changshu, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota, they form a “four horses” situation, which is more powerful.Currently, Toyota’s progress in electrification is relatively slow compared to General Motors, Volkswagen, and others. Through cooperation with BYD, who has a strong foothold in the electric vehicle market, Toyota can not only make up for its shortcomings in the field of electrification but also achieve faster localization in the Chinese market.
④Polestar opens reservations for the Polestar 2 nationwide
On March 23rd, Polestar announced that reservations for the Polestar 2 are now open nationwide. According to Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, the Polestar 2 will be available to customers as early as the first half of this year.
It is reported that the Polestar 2 began production last week at the Lutian Road factory in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Additionally, Polestar plans to have 50 to 60 Polestar retail spaces worldwide by the end of 2020, including 20 in China, 25 in Europe, and 15 in North America.
Quick Comment: It must be said that the Polestar 2 still carries the shadow of Volvo in appearance. Compared to the Volvo and even the Polestar 1, the biggest change of Polestar 2 is that it is a purely electric vehicle.
Polestar 2 targets the Tesla Model 3 with a starting price of RMB 298,000. It was previously announced that it will be equipped with a 72 kWh ternary lithium battery, with an expected range of 500 km (NEDC), and a dual-motor layout resulting in a 0-100 km/h time of 4.7 seconds. So, do you believe Polestar 2 is a strong challenger to Tesla from the Nordics?
⑤Beijing’s measures to stimulate automobile consumption
On March 24th, the official website of the Ministry of Commerce released news that Beijing is studying measures to stimulate automobile consumption. In the first half of the year, Beijing may release no fewer than 100,000 new energy vehicle purchase indicators, specifically targeting families without cars in Beijing. In addition, there may be a license plate system similar to Shanghai’s “Hu C” plate, which allows vehicles to drive in the suburbs outside of Beijing. However, the document was deleted shortly after.The next day, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce issued a clarification: “Regarding yesterday’s news about ‘stimulating car consumption measures in Beijing’, we have not yet studied and demonstrated it. We deeply apologize for the misunderstanding caused to the public!”
Quick comment: Previously, after the first lottery in Beijing in 2020 had ended, the quota for new energy license plates might have been used up, and new applicants may have to wait for 9 years. Combined with the news released last week, at least it shows that the Beijing government has been formulating corresponding strategies to boost car consumption, but more complete policies will have to wait for official announcement.
Almost at the same time, Hangzhou announced that it will increase 20,000 small car indicators in 2020. Among them, 15,000 are for individual volleys in graded lottery, and 5,000 are for individual indicators in county (city) lottery. In fact, it is not difficult to see that each province and city is planning strategies to boost economic recovery, and it is believed that various policies of other cities have been on the way.
⑥ Ideal ONE will add wheel view
On March 23, Ideal Auto officially announced that it will add the “wheel view” function to the Ideal ONE through OTA. This function collects images through the wide-angle camera on the vehicle’s rearview mirror and projects them onto the central control screen to display the situation of the front and rear wheels.
This way, drivers can observe the surrounding situation of the front and rear wheels in real time through the central control screen, thereby avoiding wheel scratches. In addition, this update will also involve optimization in assisted driving and other aspects.
Quick comment: From the official video of Ideal Auto, it can be seen that the “wheel view” updated this time should use the cameras on the left and right rearview mirrors to help image. This function can avoid biting the curb when dealing with side parking and other scenes. For such a medium and large SUV, this function is still practical.
Previously, the updated list officially announced that WeChat and other functions will be added to the vehicle-end in recent OTA updates. Do you think it is practical to add these small functions to cars?
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.