Car computers are stuck in a homogeneity deadlock. How can domestic brands break through?

November 21st news: Currently, under the development trend of intelligent networking in the automotive industry , in-vehicle intelligent systems have become standard for almost all models.

McKinsey predicts that the market size of smart cars will reach 1.9 trillion US dollars in 2025. The US consulting firm IHF predicts that by 2035, global smart car sales will exceed 10 million. Morgan Stanley estimates that 60% of the value of future self-driving cars will come from software.

Since domestic brands and multinational automobile companies are almost on the same starting line in the field of intelligent networking, the intelligent networking of automobiles is seen by domestic brands as an opportunity to "overtake on a curve."

In the field of in-vehicle intelligent systems, "homegrown" domestic brands have taken the lead and launched "Internet car" products first, triggering new industry demand. As the market scale continues to expand, joint venture brands have also begun to enter the market. However, the current competition in in-vehicle intelligent systems is becoming increasingly homogenized, and it may not be easy for domestic brands that are one step ahead to use this as a highlight to "overtake on the curve."

The era of software-defined cars has arrived, and the smart car market contains huge business opportunities. As the "brain" of smart cars, in-vehicle intelligent systems have become a battleground for all companies. Currently, there is no complete and mature car system solution on the market. Car companies, Internet giants, and technology companies are stepping up their layout to strive to get a share of the smart car market.

In the fiercely competitive intelligent network market, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) has shown extraordinary enthusiasm. Baidu has established Xiaodu Car OS, a car networking system based on DuerOS; Banma, invested by Alibaba and SAIC, has built "Zebra Smart Driving" based on the AliOS system; Tencent and Changan have jointly established "Wutong Auto Link".

Although the names of the car systems installed by different car companies are different, their functions are very similar. Most of them include the following functions: voice recognition, voice interaction, cloud services, OTA (over-the-air technology) upgrades, real-time map navigation, group travel, massive music libraries, and social functions, etc.

In-vehicle intelligent systems are facing the dilemma of "one size fits all". As the speed of software iteration increases, innovators can only lead by a few months at most, and then they will be "imitated" by competitors and quickly popularized throughout the industry. This is the speed of development of smart cars, and it also reflects that intelligent network systems are becoming increasingly homogenized.

As the in-vehicle intelligent system is very complex, car companies need to cooperate with suppliers in different fields. For some key functions, there are only one or two suppliers with strong strength, which inevitably leads to the homogenization of functional experience. For example, iFlytek is currently the leader in the field of voice interaction in China, and almost all mainstream car companies have established cooperative relations with it.

As the homogeneity problem of in-vehicle intelligent systems becomes increasingly prominent, the first-mover advantage of domestic brands in this field is being eroded.

Some analysts believe that domestic brands have a competitive advantage in intelligent networking, because the Internet ecosystem that domestic consumers are accustomed to is very different from the location where foreign brands are headquartered. For example, to open up the Internet of Vehicles ecosystem, a super account is needed to connect all aspects of life, and this ecosystem is very complete in China. This gives domestic brands a first-mover advantage in in-vehicle intelligent systems.

For example, the first Internet car in the automotive industry, the Roewe RX5, jointly created by SAIC and Alibaba, became a hot seller and immediately attracted widespread follow-up in the industry. Now, joint venture brands have also begun to make efforts to cooperate with BAT to build car-machine systems and accelerate product launches.

Some institutions predict that driven by commercial interests, joint venture brands are accelerating their cooperation with Chinese Internet and technology companies. The implementation of joint venture brands' intelligent network projects may once again bring a greater impact to domestic automakers.

Domestic brands are also aware of this crisis and are taking measures to pave the way for the future, such as independently developing a set of car-machine systems to form differentiated competition.

For example, Geely Auto developed the GKUI intelligent in-vehicle system and upgraded it to launch GKUI19, which can be connected to various BAT ecosystems; SAIC Maxus's MAXUS D60 model, in addition to the Zebra Smart Driving System, also provides the "Spider Intelligent Connection" car networking system independently developed by SAIC Maxus.

"When Internet cars first emerged, Zebra only served SAIC-affiliated car companies, but now we have opened our business to more car companies. As a result, our differentiated advantages have gradually weakened." The person in charge of SAIC Maxus' "Spider Intelligent Connection" told reporters that if car companies have their own Internet of Vehicles systems, they can create differentiated products more flexibly, thereby improving their market competitiveness.