Mainstream manufacturers are all competing, and have become seriously homogenized. How should smart cockpits innovate?

Let’s first discuss a question: Do you think the smart cockpits currently provided by various car brands are really indispensable in daily car use?

This is actually a topic of great concern in the industry: Is the smart cockpit a rigid demand, or are manufacturers hyping up a simple concept into a gimmick to attract attention?

The so-called smart cockpit is an upgraded version of the previous car system. It is based on a large screen, an in-vehicle operating system and a high-performance computing platform, and integrates voice interaction, Internet entertainment, in-vehicle communication and other functions. Driving a new energy vehicle with a smart cockpit is like operating a large electric toy.

Smart cockpit is undoubtedly an important application field of automobile intelligence, and its importance was once on par with the intelligent driving system. Musk and other industry leaders believe that electric cars in the future will be large-scale electronic products. This statement mainly refers to smart cockpits, and the various functions they provide are becoming more and more similar to electronic products such as mobile phones and computers.

In fact, car computer systems have been quite common in the era of fuel vehicles, and functions such as voice interaction and map navigation have been around for many years. However, in the era of new energy, the concept of smart cockpits has really begun to emerge.

Authoritative data shows that by the end of 2023, the pre-installation rate of smart cockpits in the domestic passenger car market has reached 57.4%, which means that more than half of the models have been pre-installed with smart cockpits when they leave the factory. It can be seen that major manufacturers have always been very enthusiastic about smart cockpits.

Manufacturers are very enthusiastic, but what do consumers think? A professional organization recently conducted a survey. Among the factors that consumers pay attention to when purchasing new energy vehicles, the proportion of consumers who pay attention to "cockpit intelligence" is as high as 78.6%, which exceeds the hot smart driving and is second only to the vehicle's range.

For example, when driving, many people have the habit of observing and operating the central control screen, which is actually quite dangerous and can easily increase the probability of an accident. With the smart cockpit, the driver and other passengers can call up various common functions in the car simply by voice, which is convenient, fast and will not distract.

For example, new energy vehicles have more and more Internet applications, and their entertainment functions are getting stronger. Smart cockpits are generally oriented towards car-machine integration. Mainstream manufacturers have already achieved seamless switching between car-machine and mobile phones. You can continue listening to TV series or music that you haven't finished watching or listening to on your mobile phone in the car. This is also a relatively practical function.

Unlike traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles allow people to stay in the car for a long time as long as the battery is sufficient. This leads to more and more interactions between users and smart cockpits, just like people get used to smartphones. This high-frequency contact further enhances consumers' recognition of smart cockpits.

It can be said that the smart cockpit, like smart driving, can provide better services to users. It is a core component of new energy vehicles that is preferred by both manufacturers and consumers. It is not a so-called gimmick, nor is it forcing an unnecessary configuration on consumers. Instead, it has a more positive meaning and can bring users a car-using experience that far exceeds that of fuel vehicles of the same level.

In fact, smart cockpits have long been a major selling point for mainstream new energy vehicles. The most typical example in this regard is Huawei. Its Hongmeng smart cockpit is the main selling point of popular models such as the M7 and M9.

However, there is also an obvious problem with smart cockpits, that is, the homogenization phenomenon is quite serious. There is no essential difference in the actual experience between smart cockpits of different brands. It is nothing more than who has a higher fluency and who has more Internet applications. It is difficult to create a fundamental gap.

This is similar to what happened in the mobile phone market. After more than a decade of fierce competition, the functions of mobile phones from major brands have become more and more similar. Many users have found that the differences in user experience between mobile phones from major brands are getting smaller and smaller. Except for Apple, almost all Android systems seem to be born from the same mother.

Smart cockpits will eventually reach this point, and homogenization is inevitable, because smart cockpits can only provide a few types of services. As the entire industry continues to develop, the technological gap between different manufacturers is getting smaller and smaller, and it is difficult for smart cockpits to have more functions.

Some industry leaders have predicted that the so-called smart driving will eventually become just an ordinary car component worth three to five thousand yuan. The same is true for the smart cockpit field. In the future, smart cockpits may no longer be as attractive as they are now, not because they are not practical, but because they have become an essential component for new energy vehicles.

Since homogenization is inevitable, can manufacturers not be so competitive?

Obviously not. First of all, the smart cockpit is indeed a major selling point at this stage. Whether there is a smart cockpit will directly affect the user's choice. At the same price, if you compare the smart cockpit of a domestic new energy vehicle with the ordinary cockpit of a joint venture fuel vehicle, it is obvious which one is more attractive.

Secondly, the current new energy vehicle market is very competitive. Smart cockpits may not be needed by every consumer, but consumers can choose not to use them, but manufacturers cannot but provide them. Everyone is competing for smart cockpits. If a mainstream manufacturer does not have one, it is equivalent to asking for trouble. At the current level of internal competition, no mainstream manufacturer dares to go against the industry environment.

Therefore, in the next few years, the popularity of smart cockpits will not decrease and will continue to grow. However, in the process, it will become more and more practical and closer to users’ real usage scenarios. For example, mobile phone photography was not a “must-have” at the beginning, but which mainstream mobile phone brand dares not to make a big push in this direction now?

The same goes for the smart cockpit, it’s just a question of which direction it will eventually roll out. At present, perhaps after autonomous driving matures, the audio and video and shooting functions will be its major decisive points. By then, you can take pictures of the scenery and watch movies in the car while traveling, and share them with your friends in time. This scene may be realized within three to five years.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.