Smart vehicles becoming a common sight nationwide

The vehicle features Xpeng's second-generation driving-assist system and its latest voice recognition system which can take commands from different parts of the cabin and understand successive instructions.

The G9, which is expected to be delivered in October, boasts a new powertrain system using China's first 800-voltage Silicon Carbide platform.

At the carmaker's new 480-kilowatt supercharging station, the model can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in only 15 minutes. Xpeng said it aims to open 2,000 supercharging stations across the country by 2025.

Wey, the premium arm of Great Wall Motors, launched a new variant of its Mocha plug-in hybrid electric SUV, featuring two lidar sensors, at the Chengdu auto show held in August.

It is China's first mass-produced model sporting Qualcomm's Snapdragon Ride, the chipmaker's platform for autonomous driving functions.

Qiao Xinyu, deputy general manager of Wey, said smart driving will be the decisive factor in the highly competitive new energy vehicle segment.

In terms of hardware, the model features 31 sensors including two lidar sensors and a 360 Tera Operations Per Second or TOPS chip.

The Mocha model is also the first Chinese model to feature a smart driving solution tailored for urban traffic situations developed by Chinese startup Haomo.ai. The model can spot traffic lights and is capable of such functions as changing lanes and overtaking vehicles.

Besides driving-assist functions, highly automated vehicles are being seen in specific designated areas in China, like ports and industrial parks.

Inceptio Technology, a Chinese autonomous driving startup, said its fleet of trucks have accumulated over 6 million kilometers of trips. The company was established in Shanghai in 2018, dedicated to Level 3 and 4 autonomous technologies for trucks.

Its Level 3 autonomous system, called the Xuanyuan, was unveiled in March 2021. Two models developed in collaboration with Dongfeng and Sinotruk started production in late 2021.

The startup said it is updating the system and making breakthroughs in its core technology, including algorithms, hardware and data.

Wu Gansha, CEO of Chinese startup Uisee, said autonomous buses and trucks are more economical than conventional vehicles.

Terminal distribution is another segment that is seeing the introduction of unmanned vehicles. Terminal distribution refers to logistics services that interact with end-users.

In Beijing, companies including Uisee are making inroads in the segment.

A report by investment company Estar Capital said the sales revenue of the country's terminal distribution market stood at around 300 billion yuan ($46 billion) in 2021.