"Car News Weekly": Tesla Abandons Radar, Relying Solely on "Vision" to Dominate China's Market! Will Over 80% of Porsche Models in the Future Be Purely Electric Vehicles?

Car News Weekly

Smart driving-related news broadcast

▶ Introduction

Hot Topic This Issue:

New Industry Regulations

1. CITIC Securities: China VIb emission standards will take effect in July, making it only natural for older vehicles to be cleared from inventories.

Factory Updates

1. Week 2 of March: Passenger Vehicle Sales

2. Porsche: Fully accelerating its electrification journey, with over 80% of new vehicles expected to be all-electric models by 2030.

3. Tesla: China-made Model Y Switches to "Pure Vision" System

Industry Chain Information

1. Mobileye Establishes Shanghai Jiading Technology Testing Center

This issue's keywords: Industry New Regulations, Automaker Updates, Autonomous Driving

  PART.1 Industry New Regulations

1. CITIC Securities: China VIb emission standards will take effect in July, making it only natural for older vehicles to be cleared from inventories.

CITIC Securities noted that the China VIb emission standards will be fully implemented starting July 1, 2023. Compared to China VIa, the new China VIb standards feature stricter emission and testing requirements, particularly with the addition of RDE tests, which assess real-world driving emissions from vehicles.

Some older models on the market still fail to meet the China 6b emission standards, and their efforts to clear inventory could potentially impact the industry’s production, sales, and pricing. However, this transition to the new national standard won’t last long, and its overall effect will be significantly milder compared to the 2019 switch from China 5 to China 6a.

  PART.2 Factory Updates

1. Week 2 of March: Passenger Vehicle Sales

In the second week of March (March 6 to March 12), auto sales totaled 313,600 vehicles, down 8.5% year-on-year. As of now, cumulative sales have declined by 23.4% compared to the same period last year, and decreased by 10.68% from the previous month.

In the second week of March 2023, new energy vehicle sales reached 108,400 units, declining 7.25% from the previous week but increasing 9.1% year-on-year. Among these, pure electric models accounted for 79,000 units sold in a single week, down 1.1% compared to the same period last year, and dropping 7.7% from the prior week. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid vehicles recorded sales of 24,200 units, while range-extended electric vehicles achieved 5,600 units.

2. Porsche: Fully accelerating its electrification journey, with over 80% of new vehicles expected to be all-electric models by 2030.

On March 13, Porsche unveiled its latest all-electric initiative, aiming to have 80% of its new car sales come from fully electric models by 2030.

Porsche has announced its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. By 2025, electric vehicle models are expected to account for half of Porsche's total sales, encompassing both all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. By 2030, the company plans for pure electric models to make up more than 80% of its new car lineup.

In addition, Porsche has also invested heavily in core technology areas such as battery systems and battery module production. The newly established Cellforce Group is focusing on the research and development and manufacturing of high-performance batteries, with mass production expected to begin in 2024.

3. Tesla: China-made Model Y Switches to "Pure Vision" System

The latest batch of amendments and extensions announced in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Announcement on Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products" reveals that four China-made Tesla Model Y models have undergone information change filings. The new versions now adopt a "radar-free" solution—essentially the same "purely vision-based" approach seen in the overseas Model Y lineup.

Musk had already stated back in 2021 that a pure vision-based autonomous driving solution is far superior to a combination of radar and vision. Musk argued that the radar-and-vision approach introduces uncertainty. Earlier, Tesla had already removed the radar systems from its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in the North American market.

PART 3. Industry Chain Information

1. Mobileye Establishes Shanghai Jiading Technology Testing Center

Recently, Mobileye, a provider of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), announced the official opening of its Shanghai Jiading Technology Testing Center. Moving forward, Mobileye will conduct critical technical validation and testing of its cutting-edge products and solutions at the Jiading Technology Testing Center, delivering advanced and reliable solutions to Chinese automakers.

It was revealed that in 2022, Mobileye secured fixed-point projects from 12 Chinese independent-brand automakers, totaling 24 projects. Moreover, Mobileye's revenue growth in China more than doubled compared to 2021. Leveraging significant technological advancements and its strong partnerships with Chinese automakers, Mobileye aims to deliver cutting-edge advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicle solutions to an even broader range of customers in the future.

Related news