Zeekr and Mobileye, the former a Chinese market electric brand owned by Geely, the latter a subsidiary of Intel, have announced a partnership with the stated aim of launching the world's first consumer autonomous vehicles with Level 4 capability by 2024. The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
What is Level 4 autonomy?
The two companies plan to use Zeekr's vehicles which already have a low level of autonomy and driver assistance (steering, braking and acceleration, for instance) combined with Mobileye's chips to create a car which will, more or less, drive itself most of the time. Level 4 (L4) autonomy refers to a vehicle which does not require anything more than limited inputs from the driver. L4 vehicles are programmed to stop themselves in the event of a system failure or if the circumstances change outside its capability and may be geofenced to only operate within certain geographical areas. The 'driver' does not, in theory, need to pay attention to the road when an L4 car is driving itself.
What is Zeekr?
Zeekr was launched as an EV-only in 2021 and currently sells one model, the all-electric 001, a handsome shooting-brake with a 100kWh battery and a reported 700km range. Much of the company's design and development work takes place in Sweden. Geely, which currently owns Volvo, Polestar Lotus and Lynk and Co. (another Sino-Swedish EV brand sold in some European markets), says it plans to launch the Zeekr 001 in Europe in 2022.
The technology
Mobileye is currently one of the leading developers in the field of autonomous vehicle technology, its powerful chips underpinning the processing of data between vehicle sensors and driving controls. The company currently has agreements with BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen to collect data from cars equipped with its EyeQ4 chips in order to create a database of maps, accessible via the cloud, in order to better utilise the autonomous functions in cars equipped with Mobileye chips. The Mobileye Roadbook data (as the collection and mapping system is branded) will, for example, be used to improve the functionality of the Volkswagen Group's Travel Assist 2.5 driver assistance systems across VW, Skoda and Seat models. Ford will also soon integrate Mobileye Roadbook into its driver assistance systems, though no specific time-frame has been given on that.
Legal hurdles
There is currently no legal framework in place for Level 4 autonomous cars to operate on public roads anywhere in the world and so much will need to happen in the next two years in order for Zeekr to realise its aim.
In 2021, Honda and Mercedes received legal approval in Japan and Germany respectively to launch a very limited form of Level 3 autonomy, though only under very specific conditions. Mercedes's Drive Pilot technology may, for instance, operate at speeds up to 60km/h on specific stretches of motorway in Germany and is primarily intended for use in congested traffic. The company plans to launch the technology later in 2022, first on the S-Class and then on the EQS.