Using the CES platform, Chinese automakers are actively redefining the future of mobility. Compared to previous years, the Chinese automakers and supply chain enterprises exhibiting at this year's CES have shed some of the initial fanfare, adopting a more pragmatic approach. If two years ago, the Chinese automotive industry was still attempting to prove its "cost-effectiveness" globally through battery costs and supply chain efficiency; then at this exhibition, the core topic has completely shifted. Signals from the show floor indicate that the mere stacking of hardware specifications has reached a point of diminishing marginal returns. As the number of screens and 0-100 km/h acceleration times no longer excite capital markets, Chinese automakers have begun a collective charge towards the pinnacle of the industry chain—large AI models and high-level intelligent driving architectures. At this CES, Geely's launch of its "Full Domain AI 2.0" system, Great Wall Motor's showcase of intelligence and powertrain technologies, coupled with supply chain breakthroughs in chips and sensors, collectively form the Chinese narrative of this year's event. These core players from China are building new technological moats through advanced intelligent driving and large AI models. This represents a critical leap for Chinese players in the automotive industry's restructuring process—transitioning from manufacturing output to standard setting. In Las Vegas, a quiet battle for the right to dictate value distribution within the auto industry has already commenced. With hardware homogenization becoming an industry consensus, Chinese automakers are initiating saturated investments in "soft power." This is not merely an arms race at the product level but also a profound restructuring of supply chain integration capabilities and globalization strategies. At CES, it's evident that Chinese automakers and supply chain companies are adopting a posture of "saturated attack," featuring not only strategic dominance by industry giants but also pinpoint breakthroughs by hidden champions in niche segments. The moves by Geely Holding Group at this CES reflect its intent for deep integration of R&D resources. Instead of merely launching a new vehicle, Geely introduced its foundational technology platform, Full Domain AI 2.0, whose core is the WAM (World Action Model). Differing from end-to-end models, Geely's WAM advances the logic a step further. Li Chuanhai, Vice President of Geely Auto Group and Dean of its Research Institute, pointed out that the industry has largely converged on the direction of end-to-end large models, including VLA (Vision-Language-Action). However, the WAM employs a layered design, enabling a complete intelligent closed loop from "understanding-planning" to "rehearsal-judgment-correction." He emphasized that this endows automotive intelligence, for the first time, with an evolving "worldview" and "judgment capability." As the "One Geely" strategy progresses, technological innovations can be translated into products more efficiently. Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Auto Group, revealed that through this round of integration, the number of projects in the product plan has actually been reduced by 20% to 30%, while quality has been enhanced. This logic of "doing subtraction" aims to resolve internal inefficiencies under the multi-brand strategy. Gan Jiayue stated clearly that although brands like ZEEKR, Lynk & Co, and Galaxy have different market positions, they have unified their intelligent driving software under "G-ASD." At the hardware level, while different tier versions from H1 to H9 are retained, the software core has been unified. This means new models like the ZEEKR 9X and Galaxy M9 will share the same AI "brain." "Good technologies can also empower more products. For instance, the Shen Dun Golden Brick battery currently used by ZEEKR can in the future also empower products from brands like Lynk & Co and Galaxy," Gan Jiayue noted. This technology feedback mechanism allows models like the Lynk & Co 900 to be among the first to feature NVIDIA's Thor-U chip, enabling rapid penetration of high-end group technologies into the mass market. Beyond technological displays, Geely also brought its latest models like the ZEEKR 9X and Galaxy M9, as well as technological achievements like the Shen Dun Golden Brick battery. Geely revealed that G-ASD is also scheduled to deploy high-speed L3 and low-speed L4 functions (where regulations permit) and achieve Robotaxi operations this year. Great Wall Motor chose a dual-path breakthrough strategy of "Mechanical + Intelligent." Great Wall launched the Hi4-Z longitudinal dual-motor hybrid architecture. Leveraging full-industry-chain independent R&D capabilities, this technology directly addresses the common pain points of range anxiety and energy consumption among global users. Furthermore, Great Wall Motor exhibited the Soul S2000 horizontally-opposed eight-cylinder motorcycle. As the world's first horizontally-opposed eight-cylinder 2000CC engine, it represents the pinnacle of global motorcycle technology. It is not just a display of mechanical artistry but also a silent declaration: even in the field of internal combustion engines, dominated by the West for a century, Chinese automakers can achieve top-tier craftsmanship. On another front, Great Wall introduced the ASL 2.0 (Agent of Space & Language) intelligent agent system. This system is based on Great Wall's self-developed Coffee EEA 4.0 architecture. This "central computing + zonal control" super nervous system endows the vehicle with distinct "cerebrum" and "cerebellum" functions, completely breaking down the information barriers between the cockpit, intelligent driving, and powertrain. Driven by the AI OS, ASL 2.0 evolves into two core intelligent agents: The "Smart Space Agent" is no longer a simple command executor but an "new family member" providing proactive services through an SOA architecture; the "Intelligent Driving Agent," integrating VLA and world models, possesses human-like causal reasoning capabilities. This cognitive logic, akin to a "veteran driver," gives the machine genuine IQ and EQ for understanding the physical world. From proposing the concept at CES 2025 to achieving the 2.0 version's implementation at CES 2026, Great Wall demonstrates its commitment to frontier technologies through this fast-paced development. Beyond the OEMs, Chinese supply chain companies and new automakers showcased concrete mass-production capabilities at this CES, directly benchmarking against international giants. Leapmotor displayed its aggressive strategy in electronic and electrical architecture. The newly launched Leapmotor D19 directly incorporates Qualcomm's dual 8797 Supreme Edition chips, aiming to challenge the performance limits of central computing. Unlike Sony Honda's Afeela, which focuses on bringing PS5 gaming experiences into the car, Leapmotor directs computing power towards vehicle control and real-time inference, emphasizing the hard power of the "computing foundation." Black Sesame Technologies exhibited its A2000 autonomous driving chip, with a single-chip computing power reaching 250 TOPS, aiming to directly enter the L2+/L3 intelligent driving market. Lidar manufacturers Hesai Technology and Robosense showcased their next-generation products on site. Beyond improvements in detection range and accuracy, their core competitiveness lies in "thousand-yuan-level" cost control capabilities. Looking through CES 2026, the evolution path of the automotive industry over the next three years can be clearly outlined. The rising technological barriers and evolving business models are accelerating the industry's survival of the fittest. Over the past five years, the barrier to car manufacturing was capital and qualifications; for the next five years, the barrier will become the "AI model content" (the proportion of AI models in vehicle control). High-level intelligent driving has become an extremely expensive "data game." This is not just an algorithmic issue but also a matter of data scale and computing power costs. Gan Jiayue believes that current assisted driving is not simply about rules or algorithms; future maintenance will require substantial costs. Improving AI capabilities also demands significant investment in capital, computing power, models, data, and high-quality talent, including accident investigation capabilities, all requiring large-scale teams. A single company achieving "full-stack self-research" might not be very economical. By integrating internal R&D resources to build a unified G-ASD foundation, Geely is essentially distributing the high costs of AI R&D through economies of scale. Gan Jiayue's statement about "reducing quantity, increasing quality" precisely annotates this logic. Only companies achieving annual sales in the millions and possessing massive data feedback capabilities can support the training costs of WAM-level large models. This also confirms current industry predictions about the future landscape: the intelligent driving market will be dominated by a few giants. For small and medium-sized automakers unable to self-develop large models or bear the cost of high-performance chips, CES 2026 is a dangerous signal. In the transition from "software-defined vehicles" to "AI-defined vehicles," technological gaps will lead to rapid loss of market share. From 2026 to 2027, the industry may witness a new wave of mergers and acquisitions. Companies unable to achieve "cross-domain integration" like Geely will be forced out. Furthermore, the implementation of Great Wall's ASL 2.0 and Geely's Eva intelligent agent signifies a fundamental shift in the commercial nature of automobiles. Gan Jiayue pointed out that the future car is a robot. Whether it's a robot or assisted driving, it depends on the underlying capabilities—namely, computing power, model capability, and technical data capability. All three aspects are indispensable. The automobile is being redefined as an "embodied intelligent terminal." As vehicles gain the ability to perceive the environment, understand intent, and even make autonomous decisions, their value anchor will shift from "horsepower, leather, space" to "computing power, service, experience." This implies that the valuation logic for automakers will change: hardware profit margins will gradually decline, while full-lifecycle service revenues based on AI capabilities (such as intelligent driving subscriptions, space services) will become new growth drivers. This model is disruptive to traditional supply chains. OEMs will reclaim more software control, while suppliers need to transition from merely selling parts to selling capabilities or ecosystems. Two years ago, Chinese automakers relied on cost advantages for overseas expansion. But at this CES, whether it's Geely daring to propose a WAM model "stronger than VLA" or Great Wall defining "spatial intelligence," it shows Chinese automakers are attempting to export technical standards. The technological confidence displayed by Chinese automakers at CES points to the next phase of the global battle for automotive influence. Chinese automakers are no longer followers closely watching the moves of European and American giants, but challengers who dare to propose different technical routes and define standards like "spatial intelligence." In this game, Chinese enterprises no longer just need to prove "we can build good cars," but have begun confidently telling the world "what a good car of the future should be like."
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