Tesla's China rival Zeekr to roll out advanced driver assistance-system for free

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Zeekr is releasing advanced driver-assistance capabilities to its local customers for free as competition heats up, Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC ahead of a launch event Tuesday.

The tech enables the car to drive nearly autonomously from one pre-set destination to another, as long as drivers keep their hands on the steering wheel and there is regulatory approval — which is increasingly the case in most major Chinese cities.

It's the latest Chinese electric vehicle brand to upgrade its driver-assistance products as Tesla tries to attract more buyers of its own version, called Full Self Driving, in China.

After initial criticism that the 64,000 yuan ($8,850) software was too expensive, some Chinese social media users said Monday that Tesla was offering some users the driver-assistance system for free through April 16. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zeekr's version will be free, rolled out to a pilot group initially and then released to the public in April, according to the company.

«Right now, in this period of development, I think subscriptions aren't that meaningful,» CEO An said in an interview Friday, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.

Given intense competition, he said, Zeekr needs to close the gap on driver assistance with market leaders and become a top player. «So we need to bear some cost,» An said, noting Zeekr previously only offered more basic driver-assistance capabilities, such as for parking.

Zeekr, which is listed in the U.S., is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Thursday ahead of the U.S. market open. Shares are up about 6% year-to-date.

CEO An said that Zeekr's driver-assistance system uses two Nvidia