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The
separate announcements from two of Japan's biggest automakers at
the Beijing auto show also underscored the attempt by Japanese
manufacturers to come to grips with the massive technological
shifts that have disrupted their once enviable positions in the
Chinese market.
Just a few years ago, Japanese car companies were some of the
most prominent foreign brands in China. More recently, they have
been left flatfooted as local manufacturers led by BYD have
snatched market share with software-laden electric vehicles
aimed at younger drivers.
Both Tencent, a gaming and social media giant and Baidu, China's
leading search engine, have been leaders in the country's
generative AI race.
Toyota, the world's largest carmaker by volume, will include
technology from tech giant Tencent technology in a China-made
passenger vehicle that will go on sale this year, said Toyota's
Yiming Xu, a director for brand and communications for China.
The companies will offer services through Tencent's strengths in
big data, AI and cloud computing, Xu said.
Nissan said it and Baidu had signed a memorandum of
understanding to carry out research on AI and so-called "smart
cars". Nissan will use Baidu's generative AI on its platform to
study the feasibility of future tech development, it said.
It will also equip its Chinese cars with Baidu's AI products, it
said.
The partnerships also show how competitive China has become for
automakers, even globe-spanning giants such as Toyota.
Foreign automakers are fighting to show they can remain relevant
in China, amid the pressure from the shift to EVs, the rise of
domestic brands and a price war.
Toyota has seen sales shrink, although it has avoided the sharp
blows that Honda Motor and Nissan have taken.
It saw its sales in China fall 1.7% to 1.9 million vehicles in
2023, the second successive year of decline.
Toyota also showed off two new battery electric vehicle models
for the Chinese market at the Beijing show.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by David Dolan,
Christopher Cushing and Miral Fahmy)
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