Premium ADAS Goes Paid—Will Users Keep Paying?

Starting July 1, 2026, Huawei’s Qiankun ADS Max advanced driving assistance package will end its limited-time promotional pricing. The one-time purchase price will revert from RMB 32,000 to RMB 36,000, while the annual subscription will be priced at RMB 4,999 and the monthly recurring plan at RMB 499. This package includes both urban and highway NCA (Navigate on City Autopilot) functions and falls under the coverage of Huawei’s service guarantee. Actual transaction prices may vary depending on subsidies offered by partner automakers. From January to May 2026, the penetration rate of L2 and above ADAS features in China’s passenger vehicle market reached 70.1%, with L2++ adoption at 29%. Urban NOA capabilities have already been introduced in vehicles priced below RMB 150,000. However, most automakers still offer intelligent driving features as part of vehicle purchase incentives, high-end trim options, or bundled hardware-software packages, and consumers have yet to develop a habit of independently paying for intelligent driving software services. Automakers such as BYD and XPeng have launched optional intelligent driving packages—for example, BYD’s “God’s Eye B” LiDAR version at RMB 12,000 and XPeng’s smart upgrade package ranging from RMB 12,000 to RMB 20,000—but these typically include integrated hardware components like chips and sensors, rather than pure software subscription services. Intelligent driving monetization models can be broadly categorized into two types: those led by OEMs and those by third-party technology suppliers. OEMs, with control over vehicle definition, sales channels, and user experience loops, find it easier to charge end users directly. In contrast, third-party providers—such as Huawei, Momenta, and Horizon Robotics—primarily generate revenue through development fees, licensing charges, and hardware sales to automakers. Among them, Huawei Qiankun is attempting to reach consumers across multiple brands via a unified technology brand, offering purchasing options including one-time buyouts, annual passes, and monthly subscriptions through a dedicated app, thereby exploring a B2B2C model. However, third-party suppliers lack full control over the vehicle platform and must coordinate with different automakers on product definitions, payment integration, OTA update mechanisms, and liability allocation. If user experience varies significantly across vehicle models, consumers may struggle to identify the root cause of issues, undermining trust and renewal rates. Whether users continue to pay depends on their perceived value, usage frequency, price-to-experience alignment, and whether the provider assumes long-term service responsibility. For instance, BYD’s “safety guarantee” policy boosted the usage rate of its intelligent parking feature from 21% to 93%, highlighting how clear accountability commitments critically influence user adoption. Currently, intelligent driving business models fall into three categories: (1) inclusion as a standard vehicle purchase benefit for mass adoption; (2) OEM-led direct-to-consumer value-added sales; and (3) third-party-driven B2B2C service models. While Huawei Qiankun has established a cross-brand monetization framework, sustained consumer willingness to pay remains to be validated by the market.