Changan Vs. Geely: A comparison in Autonomous Driving Readiness

1. ADAS Strategy Comparison: Winner-Geely

Roadmaps to Level 4-Autonomous Driving: Winner-Changan

• Changan offers Level 3-Conditional Automated Driving since 2020 and plans Level 4 in 2025
• Geely, in cooperation with Volvo Cars, aims to have one-third of its sales with full autonomous drive capabilities by 2025. We expect Geely to follow a similar roadmap to Volvo which means they will have Level 4 in 2022 & L4-P VP

Changan Auto’s Lv.3 Traffic Jam Pilot in UNI-T and Level 2 iACC

In March 2020, Zhu Huarong, President of Changan Automobile, demonstrated the Level 3 autonomous driving function of the UNI-T SUV. According to a Changan’s announcement, it was the first time that Level 3 autonomous driving technology was applied to mass production in China. Equipped with L3-TJP, the UNI-T vehicle monitors the traffic conditions on a continuous basis and conducts fully autonomous driving at speeds up to 40 km/h; when the speed is above 40 km/h, the driver only has to keep eyes on the road information

Launched in 2018, Changan’s integrated Adaptive Cruise Control (IACC) facilitates smart driving features including traffic assisted driving, lane keep assist, lane change assist, automatic deceleration during turns, intelligent speed limit assist, and voice-activated cruise speed setting. Initially mass produced on the CS 55 SUV, the IACC system is now installed in multiple Changan vehicles; including the UNI series, the Oushang X7 and the CS 85 series.

Geely does offer Level 3 yet but has a high Level 2 penetration

G-Pilot represents Geely’s efforts in the AD technology field. From 2018 and onwards, Geely has equipped the majority of its models with G-Pilot 2.0; a system that combines Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Automatic Parking Assistant, Crash Detection and low-speed Emergency Braking (AEB); enabling this way Geely’s capability to realize L2 autonomous driving functions.

The availability of Level 0-2 in their model Line-up in 2021 in China: Winner-Geely

• Geely: L1-Safety in 76% of their models in China whereas L2-D penetration was at 68% in 2020 
• Changan: L1-Safety: 60%, L2-D: 37% and L3-D: 6%

Strategy execution incl. key partnerships

Changan and Huawei collaborate in Level-4 autopilot, 5G and C-V2X

Changan Automobile cooperates with Huawei on the “Beidou Tianshu Plan” aiming to create an intelligent network that integrates intelligent driving, vehicle connectivity and other software development; as well to promote the deployment of new energy vehicles. In this direction, Changan has also established strategic agreements with companies such as CATL, NIO, Alibaba, and Baidu. Changan aims to provide L4 autonomous driving volume production in 2025. In 2020, the Company spent ¥4.142 billion on R&D programs.

Geely partnered with Tencent for ICV and it is committed to developing autonomous technology jointly with Volvo

In 2019, ECARX, a strategically invested enterprise under Geely Holding Group, signed a cooperative agreement with Tencent; to jointly collaborate on intelligent connectivity services, joint user operations, AI, and cloud services. Currently, Tencent automotive applications have been successfully integrated into several Geely Auto and Lynk & Co models.

In June 2016, Volvo and Geely stated that they intended to deepen co-operation in driverless technologies and connectivity. Volvo has announced that it will move directly to SAE Level 4 autonomy from Level 2. It is expected that Geely will follow the same path. The company has tried to apply pressure to the Chinese government to open the high-definition mapping market, to accelerate AV development.

2. ADAS Portfolio & Technology Capabilities: Winner-Geely

SAE Level 2-ADAS fitment in new car sales in 2020: Winner-Geely

Regarding the fitment of Level 2 features, according to our analysis in the end of 2020:

•  37% of Changan’s models in China feature L2-Cruising and 32% feature L2-Parking
•  68% of Geely’s models in China are equipped with L2-Cruising and 56% L2-Parking

In the end of 2020, 37% of Changan’s models featured L2-Cruising and 32% L2-Parking

• Changan offers L2 Traffic Jam Assist in the CS55, CS75, CS85 and the Qushang X7; L3 Traffic Jam Pilot in UNI-T;
• L2 Self-Parking, is available in 7 of 22 models; L3 Remote Valet Parking with auto-learning park pilot is providing in UNI-T, CS75 Petrol version, CS 95 and Qushang X7;
• From 2018, Changan new models started featuring the more integrated Adaptive Cruise Assist, which is capable of highway assistance, therefore a L2-Cruise Assist;
• From 2020, CS 75 Plus, CS 85 Coupe and UNI-T. incorporate the networked operating system Tinove OS, developed by Wutong Auto;
• The vehicles under Oushang brand, are equipped with Huawei’s Hicar intelligent in-car operating system;

In the end of 2020, 68% of Geely’s models in China feature Level 2-Cruising and 56% L2-Parking features

• Geely’s G-Pilot 2.0 system offers driving functions such as full-speed Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Centring Assist (ICC) and Lane keep Assist (LKA) that combined are capable of providing L2 autonomous driving experience;
• Geely’s vehicles equipped with G Pilot 2.0 can provide L2 parking functions; the Automated Park Assist system (APA) helps the driver to park or even automatically park the vehicle itself;
• Xingyue, Geely’s flagship SUV, is equipped with G-Pilot 4, the highest level of Geely’s autonomous driving technical route;
• The Binyue (Coolray) model performs L2 high-speed Autonomous Braking. In more detail, by integrating 1.2 million monocular camera and 77 GHz millimetre wave radar, the Binyue’s Pre-Crash Safety system can identify pedestrians and vehicles in front within a speed range of 5-150km/h and actively brake and decelerate the vehicle.

ADAS sensor technology for Level 2-Self & Remote Parking

Geely’s Xingyue comes with L2-Parking 5G-enabled, completely unmanned automated valet system

Within a 200-metre area such as a parking lot, the parking system enables the Xingyue to drive 100% on its own, search for parking spaces, park itself; or pick up the vehicle user within a 200-metre area. To accomplish the fully autonomous parking function, the system integrates 12 ultrasonic radars, 5 millimetre wave radars, 4 HD surround view cameras, 1 monocular camera, 1 dashcam, 1 interior camera, and 24 environmental sensors.

Changan’s UNI-T is equipped with APA 5.0 remote control valet parking system, IACC, and an AI chip developed by Horizon Robotics

APA 5.0 parking system integrates 4 HD wide-angle cameras (360° view) and front/rear parking radars to enable the vehicle to realize horizontal parking, vertical and diagonal parking, find a parking space within 20m, enter the parking space and complete the parking process automatically. The car owner can also use the mobile phone APP to carry out one-key remote parking. The system integrates ultrasonic radar and high-definition camera data to identify parking spaces, vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, etc., and has an emergency braking function. 

Changan’s UNI-T is the first model to feature an AI chip and AI vision developed by Horizon Robotics, The Horizon’s SoC technology integrates a deep learning processing unit engine (BPU), an ARM CPU sub-system and a dedicated Image Signal Processor (ISP), to enable object detection, object classification and pixel-level semantic segmentation.

3. Market leadership in Level 2 car sales volume in China: Winner-Geely

Geely claims they are a leader in Lv.2 car sales in China

In 2019, Geely achieve the production of L2 level autonomous drive capable vehicles, according to their press release. They announcement claimed that “L2 leader in China in terms of adoption. In the first four months of 2019, Geely Auto has sold over 450,000 vehicles equipped with Level 2 technologies”. We estimate that Geely’s Level 2-equipped cars amounted to 601,235 in 2020 vs. 549,093 for Changan.

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To learn about Carmakers’ strategies, market positioning and leadership in MaaS read our report “Carmakers’ Competitiveness in Smart Mobility“.

To learn more about competition and market developments in the next decade read our reports

• 30 Carmakers’ Roadmaps in Automated Driving up to 2025.
• ADAS Suppliers Rankings & market shares 2015-20
• “Intelligent, Autonomous & Secure Car” report portfolio