By Sherry Qin
Dongfeng Motor Group has launched a brand of so-called smart cars, joining a slew of companies in developing vehicles using artificial intelligence.
The Chinese carmaker said in an exchange filing that the new brand, called Yue Xiang Zhi Neng (Sharing Intelligence), has features like an intelligent vehicle control and intelligent driving using in-house technology. The vehicles also have intelligent cockpits that can integrate with the cloud, mobile devices, and smart homes.
In addition to the smart car brand, Dongfeng also rolled out a new-energy vehicle marque. The brand will focus on both battery electric vehicles and extended range powertrains, it said, aiming to launch more than 10 models within three years to have full coverage of the mainstream market.
As part of its five-year plan, Dongfeng plans to introduce a total of 21 proprietary NEV passenger vehicle models and 17 commercial ones. It aims to sell more than 1 million proprietary NEVs by 2025.
Dongfeng’s AI vehicle release is the latest in a string of new developments in the burgeoning field. In September, Chinese electric-car automaker Nio unveiled a smartphone capable of controlling their vehicles. Earlier this year, Baidu’s smart car business Apollo gained approval from Chinese authorities to start tests of its self-driving vehicles.
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com