Huawei and XPeng Engage in A Virtual “Mutual Attack” Due to AEB
Recently, Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei‘s Consumer Business Group, posted on his social media account saying, “What is AEB? It’s surprising that some automotive executives don’t even understand it!” He further commented, “Some people claim that intelligent driving is nonsense or a scam. It’s almost the same everywhere!” “Some car companies are busy developing intelligent driving systems but their results in AEB active safety tests are very poor. When I asked them about it, I was shocked to learn that they haven’t even implemented basic AEB functionality.”
In a recent statement, He Xiaopeng, CEO of XPeng Motors, said, “Most people may have never encountered AEB. Competitors talk about AEB, but I believe 99% of it is fake. It’s all fabrication and those promotions are not officially released by the company; they all come from short videos. Our team also inquired about it and found that their AEB simply doesn’t work; there are too many instances of false braking on the road.”
It can be seen that the two big shots have different opinions on what “AEB” is. What exactly is this “AEB”?
AEB stands for Automatic Emergency Braking system, which is an electronic system that assists with braking. It uses radar to detect the distance between the vehicle and the vehicles or obstacles in front of it. The system then analyzes this information using an electronic control unit to determine if there is a risk of collision based on different distances and speeds. If a potential collision is detected, it will alert the driver and apply automatic emergency braking or decelerate the vehicle as much as possible. This helps reduce the probability of colliding with vehicles or pedestrians in front and prevents accidents from happening.
On November 7th, XPeng also wrote a popular science article about “AEB”. In the article, he also responded to the criticism that “AEB testing is not equal to marketing hype.” It is worth noting that “AEB” is an important selling point of Huawei’s recent car models. As a crucial factor in the safety of the new AITO M7 model, its AEB active safety capability has once again made breakthroughs. During the testing process, it achieved a maximum braking speed of 90km/h in scenarios involving stationary cars at the rear and mixed pedestrian scenes as well as rollover scenes with HUAWEI ADS 2.0 technology.
SEE ALSO: XPeng CEO: Accelerated Progress of XPeng and Volkswagen’s Jointly Developed Models
Regarding “AEB,” more car companies have started discussions, including Denza and NIO.
Zhao Changjiang, General Manager of Denza Sales Division, posted on Weibo stating that AEB is an Automatic Emergency Braking system in cars. It is an electronic system that assists with braking. It uses radar to detect the distance between the vehicle and the front vehicle or obstacle. Through analysis by the electronic control unit, it determines whether there is a risk of collision based on different distances and speeds. It then initiates automatic emergency braking or reduces vehicle speed to minimize the probability of collision with the front vehicle or pedestrian, thus avoiding accidents. Denza vehicles can activate AEB at speeds up to 80 km/h currently and aim to achieve 100 km/h next year.
The CEO of Nezha Automobile, Daniel Zhang, posted on Weibo that the AEB systems of the ADC, J3, and ME platforms have all been delivered and can be activated at a speed of 100km/h. In field tests, data shows that the AEB system was activated at 80km/h and achieved a “five-star plus” rating.
According to the report from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) has been implemented as an important active safety feature and is now standard in most newly launched vehicles this year. Overall, as of mid-year, AEB was equipped in 49.5% of passenger cars, with slightly higher adoption rates of 55.8% in new energy vehicles. According to a research report by China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC), the penetration rate of AEB increased from 41.9% at the beginning of 2022 to 56.7% by September 2023.
In fact, AEB is not a new concept. Currently, several listed companies have already made arrangements for AEB.
Asia Pacific Corporation (002284) has been conducting research and development work on the AEB system since 2017. The complete system includes self-developed cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and wire control braking systems.
Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corporation (603197) has also obtained the designated AEB solutions from multiple commercial vehicle manufacturers such as FAW Jiefang, Shanxi Automobile Group Co., Ltd., Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co.,Ltd., and SAIC Iveco Hongyan.
Zhejiang VIE Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (002590) stated that the company has conducted research on the application of millimeter-wave radar in intelligent driving. Currently, they have completed the development of systems such as AEB, ACC, and LKA, and will subsequently promote mass production of these products.
ArcSoft (688088) disclosed research notes showing that the company’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) has achieved Level 0 to Level 2 functions, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane centering control (LCC), and adaptive cruise control (ACC). The visual perception algorithm engine is continuously iterated and optimized based on actual functional requirements. Currently, the visual perception algorithm engine includes solutions for forward vision, surround vision, and night vision, which are ready for mass production. Among them, the surround vision solution has been implemented successfully. The company has also developed a visual facial capture technology for virtual digital humans used in VR/MR/AR headsets. By using built-in cameras in glasses to capture partial facial images in real-time, it can drive micro-expressions of virtual digital humans.
Longhorn Automotive expressed on the investor interaction platform that, in the face of the rapid development trend of automotive intelligence, the company has made early arrangements for multi-functional ADAS front-view integrated machine products based on mass production of low-speed intelligent parking. This product can be used to achieve Level 2 auxiliary intelligent driving functions in driving scenarios, such as FCW, AEB, ACC, LKA, etc. Currently, the company’s multi-functional ADAS front-view integrated machine has obtained customer orders.