(Yicai) April 1 -- Chinese automotive suppliers have taken a leading position in the electrification and intelligence fields, thanks to the advantages from the rapid development of the domestic new energy vehicle industry, according to Chinese automotive think tank Gasgoo.

Chinese automotive suppliers have a competitive edge in many fields related to self-driving technologies, such as light detection and ranging, high-definition maps, and air suspension, Gasgoo said on March 29 when it released three passenger car databases for intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, and electrification configurations.

There were 3.7 million NEVs in the Chinese market equipped with Level-2 autonomous driving functions last year, achieving a market penetration rate of more than 51 percent, according to Gasgoo data.

In the Chinese market segment for cars priced at between CNY200,000 and CNY500,000 (USD27,000 and USD69,000), more than 85 percent of them had L2 autonomous driving functions last year, said Wang Xianbin, senior director at Gasgoo. In the future, most models priced below CNY100,000 will also be equipped with driving assistance systems, he noted.

Ninety-nine percent of the Chinese lidar market was occupied by domestic companies last year. Hesai Technology had nearly 80,000 lidar products on the market in the period, ranking first by market share, Wang pointed out.

The penetration rate of intelligent cockpits in China was close to 60 percent last year, according to related data released by Gasgoo. Nearly 90 percent of Chinese consumers check cars’ intelligent cockpit capabilities before purchasing a car, 60 percent of which are willing to pay extra for additional functions.

China’s display companies like Boe Technology Group and smart home companies like Skyworth Group are also taking part in the fierce competition of main control screen suppliers in the Chinese market, said Zhang Zhiwen, Gasgoo’s deputy director. In terms of speech interaction functions, the main supplier was China’s iFlytek, which occupied nearly half of the Chinese market.

FinDreams Powertrain and Contemporary Amperex Technology remained the main Chinese battery suppliers, while second-tier battery makers faced considerable pressure, said Wang Jian, senior analyst at Gasgoo.

But since last year, Chinese NEV startups have started changing battery suppliers from CATL to multi-supply, Wang Jian noted. In the future, automakers will also increase their investment in self-developed battery cells, he predicted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione