Artificial Intelligence
CANGO Auto View: Auto Production and Sales Amid Worldwide Chip Shortage
Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG) (“Cango” or the “Company”) is issuing a bi-monthly industry insight publication called “CANGO Auto View” to bring readers, drivers and passengers up to speed on the automobile market’s emerging trends.
Below is an article from the Company’s 5th edition for September 2021.
Chip Shortage Affecting Auto Production and Sales
The widely-publicized global semiconductor chip shortage brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic is causing disruptions across all industries, including auto production and sales. The chip shortage has persisted since early 2020, but the most recent wave in July 2021 has proven especially challenging for automakers. Both conventional fuel and new energy vehicles require a stable supply of semiconductor chips. NEVs are particularly chip-hungry given their higher degree of electronics adaption and intelligence, as well as greater number of onboard cameras and sensors. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers’ (CAAM) preliminary estimates, in 2022, traditional fuel vehicles in China contain approximately 934 chips per vehicle, while NEVs contain approximately 1,459 chips per vehicle.
According to relevant data, SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle, GAC-Honda, GAC-Toyota, GAC Fick, GAC Mitsubishi, Dongfeng Honda, Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor all reduced production by varying degrees in July 2021. GAC Fick suffered the largest loss with a 94% decline; SAIC Volkswagen and Dongfeng Honda both experienced a decline of more than 50%; and GAC-Honda and GAC Mitsubishi both reduced production by more than 40%.
Sales of various auto brands clearly reflected this insufficient production capacity. Volkswagen’s domestic market share fell below 10% (9.64%) for the first time in July 2021, while Toyota, the runner-up, was only 60 bps behind. Dongfeng Honda and GAC-Honda were both squeezed out of the top ten auto companies in sales. Sales of GAC Fick, which suffered the greatest production reductions, dropped by a whopping 82%!
July 2021’s mismatch between production and sales may be just the tip of the iceberg. Since the second quarter of 2021, domestic car sales have declined for several consecutive months, illustrating that the automotive chip shortage is no longer a short-term problem. As early as December 2020, SAIC-VW and FAW-VM were both forced to halt production because of chip shortages. On June 10, 2021, the Central Finance and Economics Committee revised its opinion on the automotive chip shortage, which has now resulted in production reductions totaling nearly three million vehicles. With this latest wave of chip shortages, domestic car companies will likely be facing a disconnect between production and sales for the foreseeable future.
NEV brands, led by Li Auto, NIO and Xpeng in recent years, were also victims of the crisis. According to their August sales data released on September 1, 2021, Li Auto remained in first place, followed by Xpeng. However, NIO, which suffered a devastating double blow to its production due to the chip shortage, was replaced by HOZON Auto in the top three. One of NIO’s suppliers, Nantiao Quanxing, is located in a high Covid risk area in Nanjing and was forced to shut down its factory in August 2021. Because Nantiao Quanxing is the sole supplier of A and B-pillar interior panels for NIO’s ES6 and EC6 models, its shutdown badly affected NIO’s production. In addition, STMicroelectronics, a supplier of Bosch ESP, reduced production due to the pandemic situation in Malaysia. This in turn affected Bosch’s supply to NIO ESP. Following a sales decline in July 2021, NIO’s August sales hit a new low of just 5,880 total sales, down 25.8% from the previous month.
According to Shen Yanan, co-founder of Li Auto, the widespread chip shortage may continue through the end of this year or the beginning of next year. To deal with this situation, Shen said that Li Auto communicates with suppliers daily. Given continued growth in the number of orders, Li Auto will face some chip pressure, but Shen believes that the company is very flexible in terms of timely adjustments.
Dealer Challenges
Overall, the chip shortage has placed relatively lighter burdens on dealers in comparison with OEMs. However, they are still facing unique challenges. According to certain brands’ salespeople, although chip shortages have led to “stock-out” of some popular models, inventory pressure on manufacturers has abated. At the same time, as consumers tend to favor highly sought-after products, the chip shortage has stimulated car purchases somewhat as consumers compete for a limited supply of the most popular models.
According the latest FAW “China Auto Dealer Vehicle Inventory Alert Index Survey” released by CADA, the Vehicle Inventory Alert Index (VIA) dropped by 1.1% year-over-year to 51.7% in August. Although it is still above the 50% official warning threshold, inventory pressure may continue to decline during the “Golden September and Silver October” peak sales season, given the chip shortage’s influence on production as well as increasing adoption of China’s “price protection” policy.
The chip shortage has affected the sales of promotion-oriented models most severely, as dealers set low prices for these models to increase sales volume but lack sufficient supply to meet demand. Dealers depend upon high sales volumes for these models to maintain healthy cash flow. Compounding the cash flow problem for dealers, rents for automotive retail space can reach RMB100,000 or more per month in some tier-1 and tier-2 cities, eating up their cash reserves. Delivery delays of some mainstream JV brands further added to dealers’ cash flow management issues.
Increased Orders for Auto Parts Companies
There is a bright side to this story – auto parts companies are seeing a huge uptick in orders. According to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs, exports of auto parts between January and August 2021 reached RMB316.58 billion, up by 34.6% year-over-year, and grew by nine times compared to export volume (RMB31.22 billion) during the same period of 2019. Although the chip shortage and the drop in global auto sales has resulted in shrinking demand from traditional OEMs for auxiliary parts, demand is surging in the NEV market and the repair and maintenance market.
Zhengdian Finance of CCTV recently interviewed Kong Chenhuan, General Manager of Zhaofeng Mechanical and Electronic, a hub bearing company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Kong said that orders have grown by over 80%, occupying the company’s production capacity for the next three months. He attributes this strong growth (particularly in the second half of the year) to the recovery of previous orders, as well as the relatively low inventory level in the overseas end market. Huida Machinery Manufacturing, located in Huzhou, Zhejiang, is also busy producing aluminum auto parts such as steering gears. As their orders continue to grow, Huida has consolidated and expanded its production lines and added three automated production lines, increasing its production efficiency by 30%.
Although the chip shortage and the drop in global auto sales has resulted in shrinking demand for auxiliary parts from traditional OEMs, the demand is surging in the NEV market and the repair and maintenance market.
Yang Fudong, assistant to the secretary-general of the After-sales Parts Branch of the CADA, said that there are actually fewer auxiliary OEMS because of the decline in car sales and the changes in parts due to the industry shift towards new energy vehicles. With the development of new energy vehicles, parts such as chassis, motors, batteries, and electronic controls are in greater demand. In addition, demand for after-sales service is high and is expected to increase as NEVs age and the overall penetration of automobiles in China grows.
Profitability During the Crisis
The chip crisis and price increases in raw materials have affected revenues and profits across the auto industry, particularly in the auto parts industry. Due to price increases in raw materials, production costs have increased by about 30% for certain domestic auto parts companies. Facing this upstream pressure, automakers, auto parts companies and dealers have developed various strategies to cope with the crisis and remain profitable.
Tesla was one of the first companies to take action. In May 2021, Tesla announced on its official website that it would raise the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y by USD500 (approx. RMB3,200) in some parts of the U.S. This was Tesla’s fifth such price hike announcement. In March 2021, Tesla China announced that it would raise the price of Model Y by RMB8,000, due to the increase in manufacturing costs. Tesla also said that they are considering acquiring a chip factory to resolve their chip shortage issues.
Tesla is not alone in planning ahead. When early signs of raw material price increases began to emerge in 2020, some auto parts companies signed fixed-rate supply agreements with raw material suppliers both domestically and abroad and have enjoyed the benefits of protection from this year’s huge price increases. Certain other parts companies swiftly responded by buying excess raw materials at low prices and storing them for future use, effectively reducing production costs as prices began to climb.
The increase in raw materials affected OEMs, dealers and parts suppliers to different extents each of whom coped with the situation in their own ways. Meanwhile, the second-hand car market, which already showed huge potential, is likely to be showered with a new round of growth.
At the monthly analysis meeting of CADA on September 1, 2021, Qiu Kai, director of the Industry Coordination Division, pointed out that September opens the traditional peak season for car sales. Despite reduced automobile production capacity, consumer demand remains strong, which should create a sellers’ market during September and October’s Golden sales season. The huge discounts commonly offered during this season are unlikely to be available this year. However, despite growing demand for automobile consumption, the tight supply of chips has resulted in low inventory of certain best-selling models. Non-urgent car buyers might postpone their car purchase plans to wait for their desired model or features, potentially causing sales in September to fall short of expectations.
With production and sales seriously mismatched in the new car market due to the chip shortage, the domestic used car market has recorded substantial growth since the beginning of 2021. From January to July this year, accumulated used car sales reached 9,893,300 units, representing a year-over-year increase of 45.96% and an increase of 22.5% compared to the same period of 2019. This market already showed huge potential and as the Golden sales season begins, stronger car consumption demand and limited new car availability may drive a new round of growth.
The worldwide chip shortage is a serious problem for the auto industry, with no end in sight. However, auto makers, parts manufacturers and dealers are rising to the challenge with innovative solutions and strategies to maintain profitability.
Artificial Intelligence
$10 million Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize appoints further advisory committee members
D. Sculley, Kevin Buzzard, Leo de Moura, Lester Mackey and Peter J. Liu appointed to the advisory committee for the Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize.
LONDON, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — XTX Markets’ newly created Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize (‘AIMO Prize’) is a $10mn challenge fund designed to spur the creation of a publicly shared AI model capable of winning a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
XTX Markets is delighted to announce the appointment of five further advisory committee members. This group brings great expertise in machine learning, including D. Sculley, the CEO of Kaggle; Lester Mackey, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and a Macarthur Fellow; and Peter J. Liu, a research scientist at Google DeepMind.
Prolific mathematicians Kevin Buzzard, who achieved a perfect score in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and Leo De Moura who is the Chief Architect for Lean, the automated reasoning tool, also join the advisory group.
They join the existing advisory committee members Terence Tao and Timothy Gowers, both winners of the Fields Medal, as well as Dan Roberts, Geoff Smith and Po-Shen Loh.
The AIMO Advisory Committee will support the development of the AIMO Prize, including advising on appropriate protocols and technical aspects, and designing the various competitions and prizes.
Simon Coyle, Head of Philanthropy at XTX Markets, commented:
“We are thrilled to complete the AIMO Advisory Committee with the appointments of D., Kevin, Leo, Lester and Peter. Together, they have enormous experience in machine learning and automated reasoning and are already bringing expertise and wisdom to the AIMO Prize. We look forward to announcing the winners of the AIMO’s first Progress Prize soon, and then publicly sharing the AI models to support the open and collaborative development of AI.”
Further information on the AIMO Prize
There will be a grand prize of $5mn for the first publicly shared AI model to enter an AIMO approved competition and perform at a standard equivalent to a gold medal in the IMO. There will also be a series of progress prizes, totalling up to $5mn, for publicly shared AI models that achieve key milestones towards the grand prize.
The first AIMO approved competition opened to participants in April 2024 on the Kaggle competition platform. The first progress prize focuses on problems pitched at junior and high-school level maths competitions. There is a total prize pot of $1.048m for the first progress prize, of which at least $254k will be awarded in July 2024, There will be a presentation of progress held in Bath, England in July 2024, as part of the 65th IMO.
For more information on the AIMO Prize visit: https://aimoprize.com/ or the competition page on Kaggle: https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/ai-mathematical-olympiad-prize/
Advisory Committee member profiles:
D. Sculley
D. is the CEO at Kaggle. Prior to joining Kaggle, he was a director at Google Brain, leading research teams working on robust, responsible, reliable and efficient ML and AI. In his career in ML, he has worked on nearly every aspect of machine learning, and has led both product and research teams including those on some of the most challenging business problems. Some of his well-known work involves ML technical debt, ML education, ML robustness, production-critical ML, and ML for scientific applications such as protein design.
Kevin Buzzard
Kevin a professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College London, specialising in algebraic number theory. As well as his research and teaching, he has a wide range of interests, including being Deputy Head of Pure Mathematics, Co-Director of a CDT and the department’s outreach champion. He is currently focusing on formal proof verification, including being an active participant in the Lean community. From October 2024, he will be leading a project to formalise a 21st century proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem. Before joining Imperial, some 20 years ago, he was a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where he had previously been named ‘Senior Wrangler’ (the highest scoring undergraduate mathematician). He was also a participant in the International Mathematical Olympiad, winning gold with a perfect score in 1987. He has been a visitor at the IAS in Princeton, a visiting lecturer at Harvard, has won several prizes both for research and teaching, and has given lectures all over the world.
Leo de Moura
Leo is a Senior Principal Applied Scientist in the Automated Reasoning Group at AWS. In his spare time, he dedicates himself to serving as the Chief Architect of the Lean FRO, a non-profit organization that he proudly co-founded alongside Sebastian Ullrich. He is also honoured to hold a position on the Board of Directors at the Lean FRO, where he actively contributes to its growth and development. Before joining AWS in 2023, he was a Senior Principal Researcher in the RiSE group at Microsoft Research, where he worked for 17 years starting in 2006. Prior to that, he worked as a Computer Scientist at SRI International. His research areas are automated reasoning, theorem proving, decision procedures, SAT and SMT. He is the main architect of several automated reasoning tools: Lean, Z3, Yices 1.0 and SAL. Leo’s work in automated reasoning has been acknowledged with a series of prestigious awards, including the CAV, Haifa, and Herbrand awards, as well as the Programming Languages Software Award by the ACM. Leo’s work has also been reported in the New York Times and many popular science magazines such as Wired, Quanta, and Nature News.
Lester Mackey
Lester Mackey is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, where he develops machine learning methods, models, and theory for large-scale learning tasks driven by applications from climate forecasting, healthcare, and the social good. Lester moved to Microsoft from Stanford University, where he was an assistant professor of Statistics and, by courtesy, of Computer Science. He earned his PhD in Computer Science and MA in Statistics from UC Berkeley and his BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University. He co-organized the second place team in the Netflix Prize competition for collaborative filtering; won the Prize4Life ALS disease progression prediction challenge; won prizes for temperature and precipitation forecasting in the yearlong real-time Subseasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo; and received best paper, outstanding paper, and best student paper awards from the ACM Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, and the International Conference on Machine Learning. He is a 2023 MacArthur Fellow, a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, an elected member of the COPSS Leadership Academy, and the recipient of the 2023 Ethel Newbold Prize.
Peter J. Liu
Peter J. Liu is a Research Scientist at Google DeepMind in the San Francisco Bay area, doing machine learning research with a specialisation in language models since 2015 starting in the Google Brain team. He has published and served as area chair in top machine learning and NLP conferences such as ICLR, ICML, NEURIPS, ACL and EMNLP. He also has extensive production experience, including launching the first deep learning model for Gmail Anti-Spam, and using neural network models to detect financial fraud for top banks. He has degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Toronto.
About XTX Markets:
XTX Markets is a leading financial technology firm which partners with counterparties, exchanges and e-trading venues globally to provide liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income and Commodity markets. XTX has over 200 employees based in London, Paris, New York, Mumbai, Yerevan and Singapore. XTX is consistently a top 5 liquidity provider globally in FX (Euromoney 2018-present) and is also the largest European equities (systematic internaliser) liquidity provider (Rosenblatt FY: 2020-2023).
The company’s corporate philanthropy focuses on STEM education and maximum impact giving (alongside an employee matching programme). Since 2017, XTX has donated over £100mn to charities and good causes, establishing it as a major donor in the UK and globally.
In a changing world XTX Markets is at the forefront of making financial markets fairer and more efficient for all.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/10-million-artificial-intelligence-mathematical-olympiad-prize-appoints-further-advisory-committee-members-302128542.html
Artificial Intelligence
Hikvision redefines urban mobility with AIoT-powered solutions at Intertraffic 2024
HANGZHOU, China, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Hikvision made a significant appearance at Intertraffic Amsterdam, the leading global trade fair for mobility and traffic technology. At the trade event, Hikvision unveiled a suite of traffic, transport, and parking management solutions and products powered by Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology, which promised to improve urban mobility, road safety, and operational efficacy.
Elevating urban traffic intelligence with AIoT
One highlight of the Hikvision stand was its intelligent urban traffic solution, which leveraged the power of AIoT to deliver comprehensive real-time monitoring, incident detection, and traffic control. This solution intelligently reshapes traffic dynamics, offering a more responsive and data-driven approach to enhance situational awareness and traffic management. Key innovations in the solution included:
Hikvision’s radar-video fusion camerasThese combine the range perception of radar with the visual perception of video. The 4 MP Radar and Video Vehicle Detector, for example, helps to enhance road safety by providing early warning of potential hazards in challenging situations such as blind spots at intersections and obstacles outside the visual range.Hikvision’s All-In-One Traffic SpotterThis stands out with its multifaceted design incorporating video, radar, and lighting technologies for heightened traffic violation detection. Its streamlined column design facilitates effortless installation.Hikvision’s Radar-Linked PTZ Camera This ensures consistent performance in adverse weather and lightening conditions, and minimizes false alarms with advanced deep-learning algorithms.Innovating parking management
Hikvision also introduced its parking management solutions. These combine extremely precise license plate recognition and intelligent barrier controls incorporating highly accurate radar sensors. This comprehensive approach enhances security, reduces the need for manual intervention, and streamlines traffic flow across parking areas. The Global Shutter CMOS* (GMOS) ANPR camera was a new addition to the lineup. Designed to seamlessly blend in the environment, it is tailored for the task of discreetly capturing license plates at parking facilities that prioritize subtlety.
Advancing public transportation safety and efficiency
Attendees also had the opportunity to explore Hikvision’s latest public transport solutions, integrating AI-driven analytics with advanced video security, on-site voice broadcasting, and centralized management for enhanced onboard security, improved passenger experience, and operational efficiency for buses and taxis. This included the Four-way monitoring system and the Panoramic Auxiliary System, both designed to reduce blind spots and provide high-definition imaging to improve driving safety.
“As ever, we are continually expanding our suite of technologies to enhance traffic safety and efficiency,” said Nick Wu, Project Product Director at Hikvision Europe. “Our commitment lies in minimizing the need for extensive roadside installations by incorporating comprehensive perception and robust AI within unified device frameworks. These innovations automate and streamline every aspect of traffic management, from violation detection to traffic flow monitoring, driving safety, and parking management.”
To find out more about Hikvision’s urban mobility products and solutions, please explore its official website.
Note: CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2398456/Hikvision_redefines_urban_mobility_AIoT_powered_solutions_Intertraffic_2024.jpgPhoto – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2398459/Hikvision_redefines_urban_mobility_AIoT_powered_solutions_Intertraffic_2024.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hikvision-redefines-urban-mobility-with-aiot-powered-solutions-at-intertraffic-2024-302128527.html
LONDON, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The London Blockchain Conference is excited to announce the launch of its ground-breaking, ‘No Future Campaign’. This initiative aims to create a strong narrative surrounding blockchain technology by challenging perceptions and sparking conversations. By creating this platform, the campaign aims to instil a fear of missing out (FOMO) sensation among the audience, positioning the London Blockchain Conference as a gateway to securing a stake in the future and unlocking the potential of blockchain technology.
With a bold and evocative narrative theme, the campaign will initially confront the audience with a jarring reality check of “NO FUTURE” and then resolve the statement “WITHOUT BLOCKCHAIN” to spark curiosity and engagement with the optimistic revelation that blockchain holds the key to a prosperous future.
The ‘No Future Campaign’ started on 17 April 2024 with the London Blockchain Conference creating and executing content on/with media platforms and partnerships:
Wharf Life inserts (17/04/2024) – Print and a digital advert/editorial-sponsored pieces.Animations being released on paid and organic channels in a 3-week campaign.Alex Stein, Conference Director said, “The No Future Campaign is a call for individuals, enterprises, and governments to recognise the importance and role of blockchain in shaping the future. Through the London Blockchain Conference, we aim to educate and inspire attendees to understand and harness the potential of blockchain technology.”
The three-day London Blockchain Conference at the ExCel will bring together politicians, business leaders, and innovators. The conference will be running from 21 – 23 May 2024 and will focus on disruptive and real-world applications of blockchain technology and the impact it is having on politics, emerging technologies, and enterprises.
For more information about the ‘No Future campaign’, visit the London Blockchain Conference website.
About the London Blockchain Conference
NETWORK. LEARN. ENGAGE.
At the London Blockchain Conference, we show how Blockchain will change the world and help people see another way to manage data, build scalable on-chain solutions and achieve great things. We do this by creating valuable, insightful, and engaging events that educate and inform, allowing you to connect and network to build strong business relationships. Our conference is the best avenue to see blockchain innovations, ecosystem announcements, product launches, technology updates, keynote speeches, panels, and fireside chats from blockchain leaders. Join us and experience it for yourself.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/london-blockchain-conference-launches-the-no-future-campaign-302128526.html
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