The battle for supremacy in the electric vehicle (EV) sector has entered a new and intense phase as we approach 2024. The scene resembles a fiercely competitive reality show where brands such as Aiways, WM Motor, and HiPhi are facing daunting challengesThe once-promising enterprises supported by major industry resources, including Jidu, Hozon, and Neta, are also teetering on the brink of collapse.

According to incomplete data over the past three years, nearly thirty electric vehicle brands have succumbed to the pressures of competition, leaving around forty companies still standing in the arenaHowever, the ongoing competition hints that more brands could soon vanishIndustry experts like He Xiaopeng and Li Bin have echoed a widely-held sentiment: the electric vehicle market may ultimately consolidate to just a handful of winnersTheir predictions suggest that in the end, only about five companies may remain at the forefront of the industry.

These sentiments resonate with the current reality of a market described by the phrase "run or be eliminated." As a result, car manufacturers across the board are engaging in fierce battles to boost sales, maintain market share, and protect profits

This climate of urgency has given rise to increasing discussions about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the automotive sector.

By the third quarter of 2024, the penetration of new energy vehicles into the Chinese retail market reached an unprecedented 52.8%, marking a significant shift towards electrificationThis reveals the ongoing trend of “electric advancing, oil receding.” While newer brands see rapid growth, traditional automakers and joint ventures have also shifted focus towards the EV domain.

However, since last year, established car manufacturers, previously known for their blockbuster models, have begun to feel the heat in the electric vehicle marketThe overall deceleration of market growth has forced many of them to scale back operations and, alarmingly, some companies have resorted to mass layoffs.

Despite having a head start, upstart brands are caught in a fierce pricing war that refuses to let them slow down

• Threatened Value: Unraveling Growth Challenges
• Global Asset Collapse!
• Market Trends and Returns in Private Equity Investment
• AI Glasses Market Heats Up: Smartphone Reign Secure for Now
• Bretton Woods Collapse Ended Dollar's Gold Standard

The once-favored "Wei Xiaoli" trio of Li Auto, XPeng Motors, and Nio has seen its lead threatened by a surge of new competitors, transforming into a frantic race for continuous innovation and breakthrough.

On one front, traditional manufacturers have begun forming alliancesRecently, Honda and Nissan announced a merger, with Mitsubishi potentially joining the coalitionThis merger aims to bolster their position within the swiftly evolving electric vehicle landscape.

Conversely, several automotive companies are undergoing self-disruptionSince last year, BYD's smart driving team has accelerated development efforts, pledging an investment of 100 billion yuan to integrate smart driving systems into most of its models.

XPeng Motors made headlines with its "XPeng AI Technology Day" held in November, introducing its entry into the extended-range electric vehicle market, an unexpected pivot from earlier statements that ordinary extended-range vehicles were not worthwhile.

Similarly, Nio, which had previously resisted price cuts and layoffs, has now entered the fray with its own pricing strategies and workforce reductions in response to the highly competitive landscape.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a pivotal concept for these automakers in recent years

In August, XPeng Motors boldly transitioned from "automobiles defined by software" to "vehicles defined by AI," making it the first company in China to make such a declarative shift towards AI as a core strategy.

As the year ends, the showdown among new energy companies in the realm of artificial intelligence is intensifyingIn December, Li Auto unveiled its intelligent assistant "Li Xiang Tong Xue," developed based on its proprietary large model, Mind GPT, with ambitious plans to enable usage on computers and through glasses.

At the same time, rumors circulated that Luo Fuli, a key figure behind the DeepSeek open-source model DeepSeek-V2, would be joining Xiaomi to lead its large model teamXiaomi's founder Lei Jun had already declared his intent to embrace AI fully in his annual speech in 2023.

If the first half of automotive industry transformation revolved around electrification, the second half, characterized by increased automation and intelligent systems, is undoubtedly coming to the fore

The commitment to advancing high-level intelligent driving and large model technologies has become a primary focus for automakers in technological innovation.

Tesla, often leading the charge in this domain, has made significant stridesFounder Elon Musk introduced the concept of "autonomous taxi" as early as 2020, and during the 2021 AI Day, he showcased the idea of humanoid robots dubbed "Optimus." Presently, Tesla is investing approximately $10 billion in comprehensive training and reasoning AI solutions.

XPeng Motors’ chairman, He Xiaopeng, reiterated in an internal letter that XPeng is an AI-focused automotive company with aspirations to be a global leader in the coming decade, highlighting the investment of 3.5 billion yuan specifically in AI-centered intelligent driving technology.

Although Li Auto and Xiaomi have also made strides in the AI sector, they initially did not position intelligent driving as their main selling point

Recently, Li Auto openly stated its goal to transform into a leading AI enterprise, emphasizing that while automobiles are a means, intelligence is the end goal.

Li asserted that the Mind GPT model is not merely tailored for intelligent driving but aims to evolve into a "visual language action model," ultimately aspiring to become a silicon-based family for humanity—a vision of what AI products could evolve into.

In this context, the level of awareness surrounding Xiaomi’s large model has been relatively lowReports suggest that Xiaomi approaches the expensive pre-training phase with caution, focusing on lightweight and local deployment solutions.

However, following news of Xiaomi luring Luo Fuli with a generous salary, the company appears to be intensifying its AI efforts, with plans to build GPU clusters—a project that will reportedly be run by Lei Jun himself.

The unique advantage Xiaomi possesses over its competitors is the extensive "smart home, automotive, and IoT" ecosystem, which allows AI applications to integrate seamlessly across different platforms

This distinguishes Xiaomi from other brands that lack such an ecosystem.

During a recent Xiaomi conference, President Lu Weibing announced that the company would channel over 100 billion yuan into research and development from 2022 to 2026, primarily focusing on the foundational technologies of AI, OS, and chips.

Despite varying levels of ambition toward AI, the integration of artificial intelligence with electric vehicles has become inevitableThe prevalence of AI in smart driving systems and vehicular designs has increased, with applications of AI steadily rising in research and production.

For instance, Toyota's R&D subsidiary is employing AI for image generation to enhance design efficiency, while companies like Honda and Sony deploy generative AI for safety and advanced driving systemsSimilarly, Changan Automotive is pioneering the first integral 5G intelligent AI flexible super factory, incorporating online AI quality inspection and automation welding processes.

As the automotive industry embraces technology, influential figures in the tech realm repeatedly stress the potential to "rewrite every product with AI." Presently, it appears that the evolution of automobiles is undergoing a significant transformation due to AI

Yet, as stated by Li, the end goal remains intelligence, not merely automation.

Amidst this changing landscape, several auto manufacturers such as Tesla, XPeng, and Li Auto have openly expressed their ambitions to transition into major technology enterprisesWhat makes automobiles suitable vehicles for unleashing these technological dreams?

On one hand, automobiles serve as vehicles for data and revenue generationThe extent of financial commitments seen from these firms, with annual investments reaching the hundreds of millions, can be daunting; without such capital, securing a seat at the table would be nearly impossibleManufacturing vehicles provides a feasible path to profitability, as evidenced by Li Auto's successful track recordMoreover, car manufacturers can tap into growing user bases quickly and build proprietary intelligent ecosystems, continuously training large models across diverse scenarios.

On the other hand, the crux of competitiveness is rooted in technological innovation

During the era of internal combustion engines, engine technology positioned certain manufacturers ahead, allowing them to cultivate enduring brand equity.

However, in the new energy epoch, the differentiation in vehicle manufacturing technology is narrowing, while the gap in intelligent technology is broadeningSafety-focused automotive large models can potentially acquire cognitive and learning capabilities resembling the human brainThe acceleration of intelligent cars could see the speed of model iteration multiply geometrically.

Moreover, intelligent data can extend its application across various smart hardware, forming an integrated landscape for artificial intelligenceXiaomi's "smart home, automotive, and IoT" approach is emerging as an industry norm, and Tesla's robots are no longer limited to the realms of science fiction; enhanced AI offers greater opportunities for the development of smart endpoints.

Ultimately, the future of AI-powered products will likely serve as a new gateway to accessing technology, a perspective that has motivated internet giants to develop universal models and super-intelligent assistants over the past year.

In the wider ecosystem of “smart home, automotive, and IoT,” the frequency of vehicle use is escalating, expanding from mere transportation to encompass living, travel, and entertainment contexts