Electric cars likely to become ‘smarter’ as Chinese start-ups adopt smartphone approach

With the smartphone industry beginning to mature, there’s been a lot of speculation about the next big technology trend. If Shen Haiyi is right, it’s going to have four wheels.

Beijing-based Zhiche Auto, founded by Shen at the end of 2014 with a team of 100 people, plans to apply the innovation model of the smartphone to the country’s auto industry.

“Before the iPhone, there was no smartphone, only a feature phone. iPhone created a new market and a new era of smart devices. Similarly, traditional automakers are making ‘feature vehicles’ – but we are making a ‘smart vehicle’, or smart devices with four wheels,” said the 42-year-old Shen, a former vice president of Qihoo 360 and Kingsoft.

The start-up will complete its second round of financing in September, raising several hundred million yuanto develop a smart car equipped an independently-developed intelligent driving and safety system as well as various internet-enabled technologies.

The first batch of the battery-powered “Jidian” SUVs, using an electric motor developed by Kyoto-based Green Lord Motors – known as the “Tesla of Japan” – is expected to hit the mainland Chinese market by the end of 2017.

The electric vehicle market is becoming a crowded field in China, with Beijing playing a major role in developing the sector through financial incentives aimed at making the country a global leader in this sector. Both the central and local governments heavily subsidise sales of electric vehicles that are made in China - with rebates of more than 100,000 yuan per vehicle, depending on the city.