Geely unveils the Ai ecosystem for its road map to 2030 at the Beijing show

The strategy is based on cars in which artificial intelligence plays a central role, starting from design and industrialisation and going on to optimise efficiency, safety, comfort and human-machine interaction with new technologies. In short, to make them more user-friendly. In practical terms, the group integrates internally developed solutions and technologies, the operation of R&D and style centres now supported by hubs in Germany and Sweden, production processes and, finally, also the possibilities offered by the Horse Powertrain joint venture with Renault, not only for the models of the brands it fully controls, e.g. Lotus and Volvo, but certainly also for those in which it holds major stakes, e.g. Mercedes. The strategy is based on the family of scalable architectures in which the first specifically developed for pure new-energy off-road debuts, on the digitalisation of the cockpits upgraded by generative artificial intelligence to bring more intuitive and adaptive systems on board, on digital platforms for the complete management of every vehicle function using Nvdia SuperChip, Thor U and Qualcomm SnapDragon 8797 technologies, on the introduction first of semi-solid and then solid state batteries and, finally, on full electric and hybrid powertrains.

A context in which four protagonists take the stage and which, at the moment, does not put full electric powertrains so much in the spotlight, also because they have been so for a long time in recent times. First of all, there is the new hybrid engine with the Em Ai Super Hybrid 2.0 platform which, through its Xingrui AI Cloud Power 2.0 management, has recorded Guinness World Record-certified consumption figures of up to 45 km/litre, depending on the type of car. Then there is Horse Powertrain whose role is destined to become increasingly important thanks to the system that allows cars based on native electric platforms to be transformed into hybrid models. A solution that makes it possible to remodel production mixes according to both market demands and geographical areas. Finally, the focus on efuel for hybrid engines and the 900V plug-in hybrid system. A technology recently brought onto the scene by the Zeekr 8X suv. It is a powertrain that in the most extreme version with 1,381 horsepower and 1,400 Nm consists of a 2-litre turbo petrol engine and three electric units.

In Beijing, Geely is showing the most of its new intelligent digital technology with Eva. It is the concept of the first robotaxi made in China, which will become a model for sale as early as next year. Eva adopts, of course, the Level 4 autonomous driving system with Ai that boasts lightning-fast computing power and sensing hardware and all the functions to move around autonomously and safely while offering high comfort due to the intuitive interaction of passengers with the vehicle's functions. Possibilities also benefited from the use of the first 2160-line digital LiDar colour system, which helps to manage the dynamism of the robotaxi even in very poor visibility conditions, and a sort of full display that seems to envelop the cockpit. A set of solutions that has also inspired external partners to already develop ecosystems for complete fleet management.

The 900 V plug-in hybrid super system, which can of course be scaled up by integrating thermal and electric motors of different power ratings, continues to expand its presence in the Zeekr premium brand. It goes from the big 8X SUV to the new 9X to the big 009 MPV, a sort of 5.20 metre aircraft carrier destined for eastern markets. Instead, in spite of their size and mass as both are over 5 metres long, the two new 1,381 horsepower suvs, to be exact, with Catl-Zeekr battery cuts that can be recharged from 20 to 80% in less than ten minutes, will arrive in Italia. They will complement a range consisting of the compact X and larger 7X suvs, the 7GT electric wagon and the powerful 001 battery-powered fastback-style sedan.