Chinese automaker Geely Automobile unveiled the first model of its new Lynk & Co brand in Berlin.
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The company reported Wednesday that fourth-quarter sales rose 22% year-over-year to $263 million. Geely auto brands such as Lynk and Co accounted for 70% of its revenue.
Nvidia reported that auto sales for the quarter were down 4% year over year to $281 million. That's despite CEO Jensen Huang calling the area the company's “next billion-dollar business.”
Nvidia counts Geely's luxury electric vehicle brand Zeekr as a customer for its Drive Orin chip, which uses artificial intelligence to power driver-assistance features known as “systems on a chip.” Nvidia's other automotive customers include Li Auto, BYD's Denza brand, and Xiaomi.
Ecarx co-founder and CEO Ziyu Shen said in an interview with CNBC this week that Nvidia enjoys an advantage when it comes to AI-based self-driving systems.
“We can't compete with them in this space,” he said, but said that about 70% or 80% of the car market still doesn't need such advanced technology and relies on simpler driver assistance with an emphasis on safety. He pointed out that the technology can be purchased. .
“Security will be a very important entry point for us,” he said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
Ecarx sells its own “system on a chip”, the Antora 1000, which is used by Lynk.
Shen claimed that his company's current products compete directly with Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, and that the new products will be: The one announced on March 20th will be on the same level as Nvidia's Orin X.
So, despite acknowledging Nvidia's current dominance in AI-based technology, Shen is considering various ways to capture more market share in the automotive space in the future.
Shen said Ecarx plans to make money by selling to local companies in China that need to buy from domestic companies for geopolitical reasons, adding that the company plans to sell to almost all major automakers in China except BYD. He added that he is affiliated with.
He expects overseas markets to be a growing business for the company as well, giving it an advantage over Chinese competitors such as Huawei.
In the past few months, Huawei has disclosed multiple agreements to sell its operating systems and other automotive technology to Chinese automakers, but it has yet to announce any major overseas deals in this area. The company also sells electric vehicles through its co-developed brand “Aito.”
“I think it will be very difficult for Huawei to expand globally because it is a sanctioned company,” Shen said. “I think it will be very difficult for Western companies to cooperate with them.”
When asked about the impact of U.S. regulations on Chinese technology, Shen said his company separates its Chinese operations from its overseas operations and follows local compliance requirements for U.S. AI chip-related operations and intellectual property protection. insisted.
Ecarx's website lists offices in the United States, Europe, and China.
Shen aims to grow E-Kirx's overseas sales from about 10% of its current revenue to at least 25% next year and at least 40% over the next four to five years.
“Honestly, it's very difficult for us to become a large company if we can't service the world's five largest automakers,” he said. [original equipment manufacturers] It is in the top 5 in the world. ”
According to data from the China Passenger Vehicle Association, which includes fuel-powered vehicles, China's largest car company last year was BYD, followed by a local joint venture between Volkswagen and FAW. Geely ranked third.
According to the association's data, BYD ranked first in new energy vehicles, including hybrid and battery-powered vehicles, followed by Tesla, GAC's Aion brand, and Geely.
