Wuhan Motor Show highlights new energy vehicle, AI

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The 18th Wuhan Motor Show is underway in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province. As the most influential auto show in central China, it provides a platform for industry players and experts to share insights on the latest developments in the sector.

Earlier this year, Chinese authorities told automakers in the country that, starting from 2019, at least 10 percent of the auto production will be dedicated on electric vehicles.

The output of car makers in China will also be assessed from that year and they will be required to obtain a minimum new-energy vehicle credit score.

New energy cars at the 2017 Wuhan Motor Show. /CGTN Photo

"It’s hard to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles quickly and aat the same time, we have to promote the development of renewable energy cars. Under such circumstances, the credit-score system is a good policy," said Liu Jianguo, secretary general of the Hubei Machinery Industry Federation.

Liu Jianguo, secretary general of the Hubei Machinery Industry Federation, spoke with CGTN on renewable energy cars. /CGTN Photo

At the 2017 Wuhan Motor Show, experts and industry players are optimistic about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable energy cars. They say China is playing a leading role in these areas.

Rong Hui, vice president of the New Technology Institute of Chinese auto marker Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC), told CGTN, "For AI technology, you can see that from all over the world, only two countries have the top-level research results."

"One is China, the other is the US. Forty-two percent of the top articles related to AI technology are written by Chinese people. And not only traditional car makers, a lot of Internet companies, such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent have put a lot of resources into AI technology," Rong said.

Although China has made great advances technically, much more needs to be done if the country's industry leaders want to make a dent in overseas markets.

Rong Hui, vice president of the BAIC Group New Technology Institute, talked to CGTN on artificial intelligence and the future of the car industry. /CGTN Photo

"China will be one of the top countries together with the US in car technology but we need to look at the ecosystem building," said Stanley Ng, CEO of Hong Kong-based geographical services firm Mapking International. "That will be a challenge for Chinese car manufacturers to sell overseas. When you go overseas, you need to look for the local adoption; you need to look for local partners."

Ng said, "To make friends with local counterparts is important. That may be local IT companies. That may be local traders. That may be local government. And even electricity companies that would support your EV car infrastructure. That may be telecommunication companies that have good IOT, or the Internet of Things connection that can talk to China cars."

Stanley Ng, CEO of Mapking International, spoke with CGTN at the 2017 Wuhan Motor Show. /CGTN Photo

Experts say that although the competition is fierce between the traditional car makers and Internet giants in developing smart vehicles, both have a chance to win and their individual efforts will converge at some point in the future. But who will emerge on top? Only time will tell.