"Car News Weekly": Sony Semiconductor Unveils Automotive CMOS Image Sensor with Up to 17.42 Million Pixels; Huawei's New AITO M7 Officially Launched, Priced Starting at 258,000 RMB.

"Car News Weekly": Sony Semiconductor Unveils Automotive CMOS Image Sensor with Up to 17.42 Million Pixels; Huawei's New AITO M7 Officially Launched, Priced Starting at 258,000 RMB.

 

Car News Weekly

 

 

The special channel provides you with authoritative, comprehensive, timely, and compelling in-depth coverage, meticulously outlining the key news threads in the automotive industry—including developments in autonomous driving, automaker updates, and cutting-edge AI insights.

 

Shenzhen: Autonomous Driving Test Routes "Expanded"—89-Kilometer High-Speed Section Set to Open Soon

 

 

Recently, Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau revealed that the city has completed the evaluation of the first batch of high-speed and expressway sections—totaling 89 kilometers, including the western section of Gaoping Expressway, Shuiguan Expressway, the eastern segment of Nanping Expressway, and the Shenzhen section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen Yanjiang Expressway—as test and demonstration roads. These roads are slated to open soon, with 13 kilometers of them classified as highly complex routes.

 

As of August this year, Shenzhen has issued road testing and demonstration application notices to a total of 15 companies for 325 intelligent connected vehicles, representing a 170% increase compared to the number of vehicles at the time the regulations were first implemented in August last year.

 

According to the plan, Shenzhen is expected to issue the first official license plate for intelligent connected vehicles this year, as well as grant the first road transport permit for intelligent connected vehicle taxis, continuing to take the lead on roads dedicated to autonomous driving.

 

Weekly Retail Trends of the National Passenger Vehicle Market in the Second Week of September

 

In the second week of September, new energy vehicle sales reached 142,000 units, representing a 33% year-on-year increase but a 14% decline from the previous week. Year-to-date, cumulative sales have also shown steady growth. Meanwhile, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in September's second week stood at 38.5%, up 8% compared to the same period last year and an additional 4% from the prior week.

 

In the second week of September, automakers reported their sales performance: BYD sold 46,000 vehicles for the week, Mercedes-Benz posted year-on-year growth exceeding 20%, and SAIC Volkswagen achieved sales above 20,000 units.

 

 

Automakers' new-energy vehicle sales performance: Li Auto's sales nearly matched those of Aion during the first full week of the delivery month. In the second week of September, BYD's Dolphin and Seagull models together surpassed 11,000 units, while all three Li Auto models made it into the Top 30 best-selling vehicles. Meanwhile, among new EV brands in the same week, NIO's ES6 closely trailed Li Auto's L8, with the Deepal S7 and Geely Galaxy L7 also ranking prominently in terms of sales.

 

The China Passenger Car Association releases the August retail sales ranking of new-energy vehicle manufacturers.

 

On September 11, the CPCA released retail sales data and rankings for new-energy vehicle manufacturers in August.

In August, the top three in new-energy vehicle retail sales were BYD (241,592 units), Tesla China (64,694 units), and GAC Aion (52,057 units). Ranking from 4th to 10th were Geely Auto (46,144 units), Changan Auto (38,355 units), SAIC-GM-Wuling (35,196 units), Li Auto (34,914 units), Great Wall Motor (23,319 units), NIO (19,329 units), and Leapmotor (14,190 units).

 

 

From January to August this year, the top three in new-energy vehicle manufacturers' retail sales were BYD (1,627,047 units), Tesla China (390,222 units), and GAC Aion (306,418 units). Ranking 4th through 10th were SAIC-GM-Wuling (247,115 units), Geely Auto (235,536 units), Changan Auto (209,238 units), Li Auto (208,165 units), Great Wall Motor (130,007 units), NIO (94,352 units), and Neta Auto (77,589 units).

 

Huawei's new AITO M7 will be unveiled on September 12.

 

On September 11, news broke that the new AITO M7 will officially go on sale tomorrow. Pre-orders for the vehicle have already begun, with prices starting at 258,000 yuan. According to Richard Yu from Huawei, a total of 500 million yuan was invested in extensive upgrades ahead of the new M7's launch—so much so that even the car production line underwent targeted adjustments.

 

 

In terms of intelligent driving, the AITO M7 New Model is equipped with multiple radars, 11 high-definition visual perception cameras, and a total of 27 advanced sensing hardware components. These are paired with a high-performance computing platform and Huawei's proprietary human-like algorithms, enabling full-scene and all-weather perception of both static and dynamic objects—including those with unconventional shapes.

 

Among these advancements, HUAWEI ADS 2.0 builds upon its BEV (Bird’s-Eye View) perception capabilities by upgrading to the industry-first GOD (General Obstacle Detection) 2.0 network. This enhanced system can identify unconventional objects that fall outside the general obstacle whitelist, as well as precisely classify various types of obstacles—such as distinguishing between ambulances, police cars, and more—with an accuracy rate reaching 99.9%.

 

Lotus unveils its all-electric GT model, the Emeya, which will begin production in 2024.

 

According to foreign media reports, Lotus unveiled a fully electric GT sports car in New York, and the company plans to reach annual sales of 150,000 units by 2028.

 

 

The new model, named Emeya, will begin production in 2024 at a factory located in Wuhan, China. The facility is operated by Chinese automaker Geely, which jointly owns Lotus Cars with Malaysia-based Etika Automotive.

 

Emeya is equipped with dual motors delivering 905 horsepower, enabling a 0-to-62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration in just 2.8 seconds. Its performance rivals that of the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, while also coming remarkably close to the Tesla Model S Plaid, which boasts a 0-to-62 mph time of 2 seconds.

 

Lotus stated that the AR system will provide real-time traffic information by leveraging navigation and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) data, while also displaying alerts for turn signals, obstacle warnings, lane departures, forward collision alerts, and blind-spot monitoring.

 

China FAW and Mobileye Announce Strategic Partnership, Set for Mass Production by End of 2024

 

On September 14, China FAW and Mobileye jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership to collaboratively develop new products based on Mobileye's SuperVision and Chauffeur platforms.

 

 

Both parties plan to begin mass-producing vehicles equipped with the Mobileye SuperVision solution by the end of 2024, while vehicles featuring Chaffeur technology are scheduled for mass production in 2025.

 

Mobileye announced that by combining Mobileye SuperVision cameras with radar, Mobileye Chauffeur enables "hands-free and eyes-free" autonomous driving on highways, as well as "hands-free" autonomous driving in other road environments where the operational design domain permits.

 

Additionally, the system includes the Mobileye EyeQ6 system-on-a-chip, a planning and control algorithm built upon the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) model, a 360° surround-view camera perception system, and high-precision positioning.

 

Sony Semiconductor Launches CMOS Image Sensor for Automotive Cameras

 

On September 12, Sony Semiconductor Solutions announced the launch of its new CMOS image sensor, the IMX735, which achieves a groundbreaking pixel count of up to 17.42 million effective pixels. This innovative sensor will enable the development of advanced automotive camera systems with sophisticated sensing and recognition capabilities, paving the way for safe and reliable autonomous driving.

 

 

This sensor features a self-developed pixel structure and a unique exposure method that enhance its saturation illumination range. Additionally, with built-in HDR and LED flicker suppression capabilities, it achieves an impressive dynamic range of 106 dB. It also boasts improved photoelectric conversion efficiency and dynamic range, along with superior color reconstruction accuracy and enhanced low-noise performance.

 

These features give the sensor broad application potential in vehicle driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving systems, enabling it to deliver more accurate and realistic image information even in complex driving scenarios. It also supports advanced imaging capabilities such as automatic exposure control, autofocus, and high-speed continuous shooting, meeting the demand for high-quality video streams required by both driver-assistance and autonomous driving systems in vehicles.

 

Horizon Journey 5 shipments exceed 200,000 units

 

On September 13, Horizon unveiled its latest business results, announcing that its Journey 5 chip—the country's only mass-produced high-level, high-performance intelligent driving chip—has seen explosive growth since its global debut and mass production last September. Shipment volumes have surged rapidly, surpassing 200,000 units, with monthly averages now exceeding 20,000 chips. This breakthrough has helped several mid-to-high-end new-energy vehicles clinch sales leadership in their respective market segments.

 

 

According to reports, Horizon Journey 5 has secured mass-production orders for more than 20 models across over 9 automotive companies. In addition to being standard equipment in Li Auto’s L-series Pro and Air models, the technology is also featured in vehicles from BYD, NIO, SAIC Group, Changan Automobile, Aion, Hongqi, Neta Auto, Chery Automobile, as well as several undisclosed partnerships with foreign and joint-venture automakers.

Related news