Mobileye Seals Another Huge Deal for Its Self-Driving Tech

Autonomous driving tech company Mobileye has secured another big deal with a major Chinese automaker.

The Jerusalem-based firm has announced that it will supply tech to FAW Group, as well as form a technical alliance.

As per the arrangement that Mobileye has with another Chinese auto giant, Geely, it will provide its SuperVision and Chauffeur platforms to the company based in Changchun in the north-eastern province of Jilin.

While Geely has several brands we are familiar with in the West – such as Volvo, Lotus, Polestar and Smart – FAW Group does not enjoy the same profile, although it has a significant presence in the vast Chinese market.

Its key car brands are Hongqi and Bestune, while Jiefang is a big player among commercial vehicle manufacturers. An indicator of FAW Group’s ambition was its announcement in January that it intended to sell a total of four million vehicles globally across all sectors in 2023, which would constitute a rise in volume of nearly 25% year on year.

As part of the deal with Mobileye, FAW Group will focus at first on the Hongqi brand, which produces a range of cars that compete at the premium end of the market.

Initially, Mobileye’s SuperVision advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) will be integrated into “key models” by the end of 2024. SuperVision is just starting to be rolled out by some automakers, notably ZEEKR, and comprises 11 cameras – which include seven eight-megapixel units, plus surround fisheye cameras – along with a front radar.

Related:Mobileye Driverless Tech Extends to More Geely Brands

This facilitates functionality such as point-to-point automated highway navigation, lane changes and automated on/off-ramp assist in identified operational design domains.

Hongqi will then integrate the even more advanced Mobileye Chauffeur by the end of 2025, becoming one of the industry’s earliest adopters following Polestar’s announcement at the end of August that it would be the first in the world to introduce the tech in the Polestar 4 SUV coupe.

Chauffeur uses SuperVision cameras paired with a front-facing lidar and imaging radar, and in Hongqi models will provide “hands-off, eyes-off” autonomy on specified operational domains, with adaptive eyes-on driving in other settings.

Both systems will also utilize Mobileye’s EyeQ6 systems-on-a-chip, RSS-based driving policy and precision mapping.

Qiu Xian Dong of FAW Group said more integration would then follow. “Mobileye’s products will be first equipped on the Hongqi brand, and later expand to the other brands within the FAW Group,” he pledged.

Amnon Shashua, president and CEO of Mobileye, claimed the scale of the deal was significant. 

Related:Assisted Driving Functions Added to 110,000 ZEEKR Cars

“FAW’s selection of Mobileye for this venture underscores the magnitude of this collaboration,” he said. “Between the scale and expertise FAW has built over the past seven decades and our world-class technology, this alliance could shape the future of autonomous driving in the region and beyond.”

Financial details of the deal have not been revealed.