Tech Insider: Huawei Takes On Tesla, Iflytek to Spin Off Health Care Arm

BYD’s first chartered cargo ship for EVs sets sail, China’s EV-market heads for further slowdown

An attendee of the International Trade in Services Fair in Beijing checks out an electric vehicle at Huawei’s booth at the conference in September 2022. Photo: VCG

Huawei gears up to take on Tesla in autonomous driving

The race to be first to develop a self-driving car and corner a potentially vast market is heating up.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. entered the contest when it announced in November a new venture focusing on intelligent car systems and components. The telecom equipment giant aims to be a world-class intelligent driving leader. Meanwhile, dozens of local and global carmakers, startups and tech giants are developing and testing autonomous vehicles in the world’s largest auto market, including market leader Tesla Inc.

China has the potential to become the world’s largest market for autonomous vehicles, with total sales predicted to hit $230 billion by 2030, according to a report from global consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) technology indicates that autonomous driving will be a competition of data and computing power. Only those with the talent and deep enough pockets can win the competition, a person close to Huawei said. Not many companies meet those two conditions.

Iflytek to spin off health care arm

Chinese speech-recognition and AI developer Iflytek Co. Ltd. plans to spin off its loss-making health care arm via a Hong Kong IPO.

Xunfei Healthcare Technology Co. Ltd. will seek approval to list on the main board of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, Iflytek said Tuesday. It did not disclose the schedule or pricing details of the IPO.

Established in 2016, Xunfei Healthcare produces medical devices and develops AI-powered software for diagnosis.

Iflytek had ambitious plans for its health care business, with its founder once setting a revenue target of 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) for the unit by the end of 2025. But that goal is still a ways off. For 2022, it reported a widening loss of 204 million yuan on 494 million yuan in revenue.

BYD’s first chartered cargo ship for EVs sets sail

BYD Co. Ltd.’s first chartered cargo ship has set sail as the carmaker ramps up exports of its electric vehicles (EVs).

The BYD Explorer No. 1, capable of carrying 7,000 cars, is bound for Europe. The ship is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd. and is being rented to BYD, according to a WeChat post by China International Marine Containers Group Co. Ltd., (CIMC), which built the vessel.

BYD, having conquered its home market to become China’s best-selling car brand, is expanding overseas at a rapid rate. CIMC said the cargo ship is the first made by a Chinese shipbuilder for the purpose of exporting Chinese cars. It is equipped with two liquefied natural gas tanks, which is used as the main fuel to reduce emissions.

China’s EV-market set for further slowdown

The growth of China’s EV market is projected to slow for a second year in 2024 as the country’s patchy economic recovery dampens consumer demand.

Shipments of battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles to dealers are projected to increase 25% to 11 million units this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. While still expanding, this is a slowdown from a 36% growth in 2023 and a 96% pace in 2022 — the last year the government handed out EV subsidies.

The forecast for slower growth means it may be harder for carmakers to meet sales targets. Only one in three achieved their goals last year and the signs are the bruising price war that crunched profit margins in 2023 has further to run.

TikTok, Disney+ outshine games in record year for mobile apps

ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok became the first app to pass $10 billion in cumulative consumer spending, helping power mobile app sales to a new high in a year in which revenue from games was down, according to the latest report by data.ai.

Video-streaming platforms such as TikTok and Disney+ drove an 11% rise in consumer app sales in 2023, showing resilient demand while the games industry dealt with a double-digit sales decline in China that dragged global sales down 2%.

TikTok’s in-app purchases of credit that can be used to tip favored creators accounted for the bulk of its income, and “unlocked the secret to monetization on mobiles,” according to the market researchers, who track the performance of big brand mobile apps and ads.