Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Geely Auto has unveiled an AI-integrated driverless vehicle system capable of performing like a professional racing driver, it says. Geely’s release on Weibo calls the development “the world’s first driverless drifting technology” since its test vehicle can self drive aggressively on snow and ice, drift, and perform crab walk and tank turn stunts.
Drifting like a sports car
With the catchphrase “unmanned can do it” and a stirring soundtrack, an accompanying video shows off the fully unmanned vehicle, autonomously driving and drifting at high speed on a snowy, icy circuit, amid clouds of dramatic billowing spray. “It’s easy to be like a sports car,” the advert declares, “but it’s not easy to drift like a sports car.”
The drift feature is being driven home by Geely as a way to set apart their AI digital chassis technology, since it highlights the Hangzhou-headquartered manufacturer’s interdisciplinary research and development capabilities in AI large modelling, chassis digitalisation, and intelligent driving. The software and hardware work together to sense and respond to the car’s status as it happens, aided by steer-by-wire controls that perform super-fast precision adjustments.
Trumpeting their handling and intelligent driving systems allows Geely to highlight the driver assistance features, such active avoidance and braking, and real-time power distribution, in its latest electric vehicle (EV) model. “Smart electric vehicles based on the driverless drifting technology can give users a higher level of safety with intelligent safety assistance,” the manufacturer notes.
As well as producing its own EV series, Geely is a shareholder in a number of OEMs, such as Lotus, Polestar and Volvo.
The rise of Chinese EVs
Meanwhile, in the last year, several other Chinese manufacturers have also been demonstrating similar systems, such as BYD’s “e4” integrated drive, brake and steering; the Nio “Skyride” intelligent chassis that can shake snow off itself; and IM Motors’ Vehicle Motion Control system, that also allows crab-walking.
The developments come amid warnings from Europe’s Travel and Environment (T&E) that imported Chinese-made EVs could constitute 25% of sales in the bloc in 2024, with Chinese firms taking 11% of that slice. In response, T&E is calling for Europe to protect its EV industry with trade tariffs to level the playing field when it comes to the cost of European-manufactured EVs. The NGO is also suggesting regulatory incentives to drive up sales, and action on lithium-ion battery supply, which is a limiting factor for European OEMs.
