36氪·2025-05-07 10:23Core Viewpoint - The rapid advancement of "smart driving" technology has been halted due to regulatory restrictions following a high-profile accident involving Xiaomi's SU7, leading to significant financial repercussions for several electric vehicle manufacturers [3][4][5]. Group 1: Regulatory Impact - The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued new regulations limiting the promotion and functionality of smart driving systems, particularly prohibiting the use of terms like "takeover" and restricting features that cannot be fully controlled by the driver [3]. - Following the accident, Xiaomi rebranded its "smart driving" feature to "assisted driving" on its vehicle ordering page [4]. Group 2: Financial Consequences - Prior to the accident, several electric vehicle companies, including Xiaomi and BYD, raised substantial capital through share placements, with Xiaomi and BYD each raising approximately HKD 42.5 billion and HKD 43.5 billion respectively [5]. - The announcement of these placements led to a sharp decline in stock prices, with BYD's shares dropping over 7% and Xiaomi's market value evaporating by nearly HKD 100 billion in a single day [5]. Group 3: Cost Structure of Smart Driving - Smart driving technology constitutes a significant portion of vehicle costs, with research indicating that it accounted for 38% of total expenditures for automakers last year, second only to battery costs [5]. - The cost of smart driving systems varies between thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, representing 5% to 15% of the total vehicle cost, and this percentage may increase with the addition of advanced features [7]. Group 4: R&D Strategies - Companies like NIO, Xiaopeng, and Li Auto primarily adopt a mixed model of self-research and external procurement for smart driving technologies, balancing core capabilities with faster product deployment [8]. - NIO's self-developed smart driving chip reportedly saves around CNY 10,000 compared to using multiple external chips [9]. Group 5: Market Dynamics - BYD's recent strategy to integrate high-level smart driving features across a wider range of models, including those priced below CNY 100,000, disrupts the previous pricing logic in the smart driving market [17][18]. - The industry consensus is that achieving economies of scale through mass production is essential for reducing smart driving costs, with a focus on penetrating the mainstream price segment of CNY 100,000 to CNY 200,000 [19]. Group 6: User Perception and Challenges - There is a significant gap in user understanding of smart driving technologies, particularly in lower-priced models where feature reductions may amplify safety concerns [20][21]. - The reliance on pure vision systems in lower-tier models poses challenges in complex real-world scenarios, as these systems may struggle with rare but critical situations not covered in training data [21][22].