Will Chinese automakers be "strangled" in the 5G era?

(Source: Auto Headline News)

When the “big wave” of 5G technology came to the forefront, “5G” became a hot spot in various industries.

When the United States listed Huawei as a blacklist in the name of "national security," Huawei would never let go of any opportunity under the 5G era and come up with Plan B that shocked the outside world.

On June 6, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC officially issued commercial licenses for 5G. For the auto industry, on the occasion of 5G, how the traditional cars that are at a backward level deal with intelligent interconnectivity technology challenges. Will they be constrained like Huawei? Are there any Plan B?

Fu Yuwu, Chairman of China Society of Automotive Engineers, interpreted and deciphered the competition code of Chinese car companies in the 5G era when interviewed by medias including Auto Headline News.

Don't worry about China's intelligent interconnectivity technology in the 5G era

At the Consumer Electronics Show Asia (CESA) that opened the previous days, 5G technology has become a new battleground for car companies, including Chinese brands such as SAIC passenger cars and Great Wall Motor, as well as foreign brands such as Audi and Nissan. The launch of 5G seems to accelerate their pace of transformation and innovation in automated driving and intelligent AI interactions.

After all, 5G transmission speed can reach tens of gigabytes per second, which is hundreds of times faster than the transmission speed of 4G network, and it allows an entire HD movie to be downloaded within one second. Such speed is a huge help for in-vehicle interaction. This means that the highly automated mass production that is difficult to achieve in the 4G era will have a dream come true in the 5G era.

But can the technology development of China's auto industry really match the speed of 5G technology? Is there a perfect technical reserve in the core technology?

▲Fu Yuwu, Chairman of China Society of Automotive Engineers

In an interview with us, Mr. Fu said that he is more confident in the current technological development of China's auto industry than ever before. He said: "The industry chain in the field of traditional auto parts is not perfect, but now China's auto industry is on the rise. The development path of new energy vehicles, in terms of fuel cells and intelligent interconnectivity technology, China's strength is beyond imagination."

In his view, in the context of NEVs, electrification and intelligent interconnectivity, China's auto industry is not a car manufacturer to fight alone. In the process of transformation, the Chinese auto industry has the opportunity to achieve catch-up. Today, both traditional and new energy vehicles, automakers and system suppliers have delivered unprecedented confidence in the context of “severe winters”. Automotive chips, sensors, operating systems, radars, cameras, hydrogen energy, fuel cells, etc. are constantly evolving.

Intelligent interconnectivity technology is an opportunity for Chinese auto industry to catch up

In recent years, driven by the national policy dividend, the development of new energy vehicles has been regarded as an opportunity for Chinese brands to “overtake”. However, as the competition of the whole industry intensified, the emerging carmakers have sprung up, the NEVs of traditional car enterprises and foreign brands EVs have also come to the fore. It seems that it won’t be that easy for the Chinese auto industry to catch up relying on NEVs.

In its first year, 5G became a catalyst for technological innovation in many fields, including the automotive industry. It pushes the data transfer speed to a new level. 5G technology will bring new changes to application scenarios such as AI, IoT, and smart city through high-speed and low-latency features, and 5G will become the main line of technological innovation.

In Fu Wu's view, intelligent connected vehicles in terms of intelligent networked vehicles, China has advantages that other countries do not have - government, industry, enterprise alliances, including communications operators. The electrification, intelligence, interconnectivity and sharing of China's auto industry are all interdependent.

At present, China's 5G commercial license has been issued. 5G can help us achieve the goal of the “Internet of Everything”, so that car and car, car and road are highly coordinated. This is China's institutional advantage. The Chinese government can organize automobile manufacturers to help the rapid development of Chinese auto companies through interconnection, Internet of Vehicles and 5G technology, so that intelligent connected vehicles will have chances to catch up. Of course, the development of 5G technology is a gradual process, but there is no doubt that China has taken the lead.

5G's “Internet of Everything” is born for the car

Just as Yu Jingmin, deputy general manager of SAIC passenger cars, once said: “From 4G to 5G is not a simple upgrade, but a big iteration. 5G technology is born for cars. If 4G technology is likened to let mobile phones and Internet cars ‘plug in wings' and connect to the virtual world, then 5G technology will realize ‘Internet of Everything’.”

It is undeniable that the launch of 5G technology seems to enable most automakers to quickly innovate in their automatic driving and intelligent AI interaction. The mass production of highly automated driving that was difficult to achieve in the 4G era was once again possible in the context of the 5G era.

In fact, in addition to car companies, Huawei is also actively grasping the opportunities of 5G technology development. It is actively cooperating with telecom operators and software suppliers to develop and apply 5G, and in-depth cooperation with car manufacturers in Internet of Vehicles is undergoing. Relying on the promotion of 5G, Huawei is also moving towards to develop the intelligent transportation service. It is worth mentioning that Huawei plans to launch self-driving cars as early as 2021.

At this year's Shanghai Auto Show, Huawei also demonstrated its MDC (Mobile Data Center)-based in-vehicle computing platform and intelligent driving subsystem solution for automotive companies. Based on Huawei Cloud's automated driving (training, simulation, testing) cloud service Octopus, 4G/5G vehicle mobile communication module, T-BOX, and vehicle network, HUAWEI HiCar people-car-home full scene seamless interconnection solution.

The arrival of 5G technology will also reshape the ecology of the current automotive industry. The car will truly become a mobile intelligent terminal, which has two functions of mobile space and entertainment scene. Car companies will also accelerate the transition to service, and traditional car suppliers may be greatly affected. With the large-scale rise of technology companies, communication companies and Internet companies will have a more in-depth layout.

Regardless of whether Chinese auto brands will be curbed in intelligent interconnectivity technology, 5G technology has become the key to once again achieving the “impossible” of major auto companies.

(Source: Auto Headline News, https://www.qctt.cn/news/509111)