Chinese automakers want to bring assisted driving to the masses

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — As Chinese companies race for a slice of the world's largest car market, they're betting heavily on assisted driving technology.

China sold nearly 21.5 million passenger cars last year. That's roughly the equivalent of sales in the United States, Europe and Japan combined, according to industry data accessed through the Wind database.

Electric cars have grabbed a growing share of that Chinese market. Tesla, start-ups like Nio and traditional automakers have jumped in. After initially competing on battery driving range and in-car online entertainment, companies increasingly emphasize assisted driving capability.

Chinese tech giant Baidu and automaker Geely are among those rushing to make a bet on making assisted driving a reality.

Just 15 months since the companies' Jidu electric car project launched as part of a tie-up, the brand revealed Wednesday a concept car it says is 90% of what customers will get next year for about $30,000. Tesla's Model Y runs closer to $50,000 in China.

«It's a car, and, even more so, a robot,» Jidu CEO Joe Xia said during the livestreamed event in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. «We use a concept car to quickly prove our early stage design and idea.»

The four-seat vehicle, called Robo-01, has replaced the dashboard with a long screen extending across the front of the car and removed cockpit buttons — since the driver can use voice control instead, Xia said.

Theoretically, the half-moon of a steering wheel can fold up, paving the way for a cockpit seat with no window obstructions, once full self-driving is allowed on China's roads. Two large external sensors for assisted driving can retract, for aesthetics and for protection in the event of an emergency.

Xia claimed Jidu «can become the