Currently reading: Xpeng to reduce hardware requirements for ADAS systems

Chinese start-up is “reviewing very carefully” its use of sensors for advanced driver assistance technology

Chinese manufacturer Xpeng is looking to significantly reduce the amount of hardware it needs to offer semi-autonomous technology in a shift that follows rival Tesla but runs counter to much of the rest of the industry.

“We can see a clear trend in the future for needing less and less components for autonomous driving,” Meng Wu, product planning director for Xpeng, said on a call with journalists.

Xpeng is looking to cut costs as it battles to compete in China’s cut-throat electric vehicle market, where prices have fallen significantly in recent months.

“Everyone is trying to reduce the price. If you reduce the price, you’ve got to reduce the cost,” Jack Xu, Xpeng head of research and development, said on the same call, hinting that some rivals were taking a hit on profits to build volume.

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Xu said Xpeng is “reviewing very carefully” the numbers of sensors it needs to support autonomous driving. It is also looking at whether it needs the high-compute power of the latest chips increasingly being fitted to facilitate semi-autonomous driving – for example, Nvidia’s Orin X. “If we need only 50% of the compute power, why should we fit such a powerful chip?” Xu said.

Chinese car makers including Xpeng and Nio were quick to fit more sophisticated sensors such as lidar as they sought to entice customers with the promise of increased driving automation in the country’s famously congested cities. 

However, Xpeng has moved more towards Tesla’s model, which is to rely solely on cameras. Xu said Xpeng had reduced the cameras it uses to run its semi-autonomous driving systems from three to two. The brand hasn’t said whether the new G6 SUV, unveiled at the Shanghai motor show, will include lidar.

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Xpeng has staked its reputation on building ‘smart’ EVs on its autonomous systems and later it will roll out its XNGP level-two-plus autonomous system, which still requires driver attention, to cities across China. XNGP runs parallel with Xpeng’s City NGP product, but this time doesn’t require high-definition maps, which are costly. Xpeng has previously said XNGP is the final step “before full autonomous driving is realized”.

Xpeng is confident that the increased knowledge within its self-driving software can reduce the need for multiple visual sensors. Xpeng’s move runs counter to Mobileye’s new SuperVision level-two-plus system, which has been announced for Porsche’s next-generation electric vehicles and uses 11 sensors, including seven cameras, replacing the single camera that Mobileye has in its widely used assisted driving hardware/software combination.  The Chinese brand is currently selling models in select European countries and assessing whether to launch in the UK as well.   

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