Although companies continue to showcase their latest vehicles and systems at the 10-day Shanghai auto show that kicked off on Wednesday, terms like “navigate on autopilot” (NOA) and “advanced driver assistance” have largely replaced “autonomous driving”, “unmanned driving”, and “self driving”, which were prominent at the Beijing auto show last year.
“Safety” has also become a big buzzword for the industry executives at the event, which attracted more than 70 carmakers from 26 countries and regions.
“We believe the essence of innovation lies not in showcasing technologies, but in improving user experience, ensuring safety and guiding users to understand how to use technology responsibly,” said Yu Qian, co-founder and CEO of Qcraft, a technology provider that announced an urban NOA system on Wednesday.
Safety was the “premise” of an assisted-driving system for premium EVs unveiled on Thursday by German carmaker Audi and Momenta, according to Cao Xudong, CEO of the latter, a Beijing-based autonomous-driving firm.
Xu Lei, CEO of solution provider Nullmax, said companies must not compromise safety for cost reductions amid competition.
“Cost is crucial, and this includes research and development investments,” the ex-Tesla engineer said on Thursday. “However, discussions about cost-effectiveness should be based on safety. This is essential for an industry’s sustainable development.”
