"Car News Weekly": Japan Launches L4-Level Autonomous Driving Vehicle Highway Service—Plus, a More Comprehensive Product Offering! The all-new NIO ES6 officially debuts, starting at 368,000 yuan!
Japan launches L4-level autonomous driving vehicle highway operation services; NIO debuts its all-new ES6, priced from 368,000 to 426,000 yuan; Horizon and Jien Intelligent Mobility forge a strategic partnership.
Car News Weekly
Smart driving-related news broadcast
1. Japan Launches L4-Level Autonomous Vehicle Highway Operation Service
1. Passenger vehicle sales in the third week of May
2. NIO Launches the All-New ES6, Priced from 368,000 to 426,000 RMB
3. Tesla Rolls Out FSD Beta v11.3.6 in North America
4. BYD Explains the e Platform 3.0
1. Horizon and Junlian Zhixing Forge Strategic Partnership
2. Sony plans to capture 39% of the automotive image sensor market by fiscal year 2025.
This issue's keywords: Industry New Regulations, Automaker Updates, Autonomous Driving
PART.1 Industry New Regulations
1. Japan Launches L4-Level Autonomous Vehicle Highway Operation Service
Japan's Yamaha Motor Company announced in a press release that Japan launched the country's first public road operation service for L4-level autonomous vehicles on May 21 in Eiheiji-machi, Fukui Prefecture, in the central region.
The public statement noted that this service has designated a two-kilometer stretch on public roads, where vehicles achieve positioning by following electromagnetically induced lines embedded in the road surface, while relying on various sensors to perceive their surroundings, thus enabling autonomous driving.
PART.2 Factory Updates
1. Passenger vehicle sales in the third week of May
From May 1 to 21, retail sales in the national passenger car market reached 1.046 million units, representing a 41% increase compared to the same period last year and a 10% rise from the previous month. Year-to-date cumulative retail sales totaled 6.941 million units, up 3% over the same period last year.
The new energy vehicle market recorded retail sales of 372,000 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 109% compared to the same period last year, and a month-on-month rise of 13%. Year-to-date cumulative retail sales have reached 2.215 million units, marking a 44% increase compared to the same period last year.
2. NIO Launches the All-New ES6, Priced from 368,000 to 426,000 RMB
On May 24, NIO officially launched the all-new, next-generation intelligent electric SUV—the ES6—in Shanghai. The new vehicle continues to position itself as a premium, mid-size, all-electric SUV, offering 10 exterior color options: Galaxy Purple, Cloud White, Stratosphere Blue, Astronaut Blue, Polar Star Blue, Dawn Gold, Sunset Orange, Aurora Green 2, Star Gray, and Deep Space Gray.
The all-new ES6 series marks NIO's first model equipped with the Banyan 2.0.0 system, featuring over 120 new functions and enhanced user experiences, according to official announcements. Additionally, this vehicle offers an optional N-Box enhanced entertainment system, which, when paired with NIO Air AR glasses, enables multiple users to enjoy immersive AR-enabled large-screen movie viewing together.
In the realm of intelligent driving, the all-new ES6 is equipped with a comprehensive suite of 33 perception hardware components, including 1 LiDAR, 7 high-definition cameras, 4 surround-view cameras, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 2 high-precision positioning units, and 1 enhanced driver-assistance system paired with V2X vehicle-to-infrastructure collaboration capabilities. Additionally, it features 4 NVIDIA Drive Orin X chips, delivering a total computing power of 1016 TOPS, enabling 23 advanced safety and driving assistance features.
3. Tesla Rolls Out FSD Beta v11.3.6 in North America
On May 23, Tesla rolled out FSD Beta version 11.3.6 to subscribers in North America. According to the release notes, the key updates in Tesla's FSD compared to the previous version include:
The multi-camera video network and next-generation planning system in FSD Beta enable more sophisticated dynamic object interactions, reducing reliance on lane markings—and ultimately leading to smarter behavior, smoother control, and more rational decision-making.
Expand the maximum trajectory optimization range, enabling the system to maintain smooth control when driving on highways, especially in situations involving high-curvature roads and vehicles at long distances.
It improved the recall and precision of object detection, reducing the position recognition error for semi-trailer trucks by 10%, while also enhancing the recall and precision of vehicles crossing within 100 meters by 3% and 7%, respectively.
When FSD Beta is activated, the vehicle adjusts the orientation of its surround-view and rearview cameras to ensure the autonomous driving system’s visualization. The system records its own position by rotating the cameras.
4. BYD Explains the e Platform 3.0
On May 22, BYD held an e-platform 3.0 sharing salon in Beijing, offering insights into its e-platform 3.0.
BYD stated that the e Platform 3.0, as a dedicated all-electric platform, is developed based on principles that support intelligent driver-assistance systems, optimize resource utilization efficiency, and enhance overall vehicle safety. This platform further structures and modularizes BYD's cutting-edge technology in the new-energy vehicle sector, while remaining compatible with multiple layout configurations—such as front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive—and offering exceptional scalability.
The intelligent driving domain integrates features such as autonomous driving, ACC, AEB, LSS, BSD, and APA. Meanwhile, the e Platform 3.0 seamlessly combines road-sensing capabilities with visual perception abilities. Under the premise of safety, it enhances the smart driving experience through its domain-controlled electrical/electronic architecture, BYD OS vehicle-control operating system, and a closed-loop ecosystem. Additionally, the e Platform 3.0 comes equipped with pre-installed interfaces for various autonomous driving hardware components, making it compatible with and easily configurable to support global autonomous driving solutions.
PART 3. Industry Chain Information
1. Horizon and Junlian Zhixing Forge Strategic Partnership
Recently, Horizon Robotics signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Juntuan Zhixing, a subsidiary of Junsheng Electronics. The two companies will leverage their respective strengths to forge a comprehensive, long-term, and stable strategic partnership, jointly driving the research and development and implementation of advanced autonomous driving solutions—working hand in hand to deliver exceptional driving and riding experiences to a broader range of users.
This collaboration sees Horizon providing an intelligent automotive solution based on "chip + reference algorithms + development tools," encompassing automotive-grade chips, in-vehicle computing platforms, visual perception systems, and human-machine interaction technologies.
2. Sony plans to capture 39% of the automotive image sensor market by fiscal year 2025.
On May 25, Terushi Shimizu, President of Sony's Semiconductor Business, announced at an investor event that Sony aims to achieve a 60% market share in the image sensor market and a 39% share in the automotive image sensor market by fiscal year 2025.
According to data from the third quarter of 2022, Sony's CMOS image sensor sales reached $2.442 billion, capturing a market share of 51.6%—more than three times that of Samsung, which ranked second with 15.6%.
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