Inside China’s Automotive Tech Landscape with Brian Bao, Local Industry Expert
This interview is designed to give the AutoSens and InCabin USA audience direct access to genuine, on-the-ground intelligence about the Chinese automotive market from someone who has lived and worked inside it.
Interview With:
Brian Bao
Business Development Representative, China
"One of the most significant developments for our Community is the expansion of InCabin & AutoSens into China and to help us do that, we have brought in someone who doesn’t just understand the Chinese automotive market, but is a local himself. Brian joins Sense Media as our China Lead, with deep relationships spanning the full supply chain of companies that are reshaping in-cabin technology. If you have ever wondered what is really happening inside the world's largest automotive market, beyond the headlines, you’re about to find out. Please welcome Brian."
What's a misconception Western engineers have about how fast China is actually moving on in-cabin technology?
The single biggest misconception Western engineers have is that China’s speed in in-cabin technology is driven by a risky “cutting corners for time-to-market” approach, rather than acknowledging it as the result of a fundamentally different, more advanced engineering architecture and innovation philosophy.
This perception that “China is not engineering for safety and that they do things on the cheap” persists in many Western auto boardrooms. However, this view fails to grasp the full picture. Western engineers often frame the “China Speed” gap as a difference in effort, but a closer look reveals it’s a difference in the underlying engine.
To move beyond the misconception, Western firms need to look at China not as a market, but as a “World Lab” that Western brands can no longer afford to ignore. Engineering adaptability and scalability across model lines is the key to winning in China, and a strategic shift is required: organizations must move away from rigid internal silos and embrace flatter, more integrated structures mirrored by Chinese companies.
Which Chinese companies should we be watching?
Calterah: Leveraging the industry’s highest channel count (36 channels) millimeter-wave radar cabin perception chip, Lancang AiP, they have significantly improved the accuracy and coverage of Child Presence Detection (CPD). Simultaneously, their world’s first automotive-grade UWB SoC chip compliant with new standards offers new possibilities for accurate cabin liveness detection and digital keys. To date, over 19 million chips have been shipped and applied in more than 300 vehicle models.
Hirige: Backed by Dahua Technology, they integrate multiple technologies such as vision, millimeter-wave radar, and UWB radar to provide a one-stop “full-perception” solution from DMS (Driver Monitoring System) and OMS (Occupant Monitoring System) to CPD (Child Presence Detection), with applications in both passenger and commercial vehicles.
MINIEYE Innovation: One of the first domestic DMS solution providers to obtain EU GSR certification, leveraging its integrated DMS/OMS hardware and software capabilities and full-stack self-developed advantages, recently secured a single mass production order worth 320 million yuan.
Joyson Electronics: The world’s second-largest automotive safety supplier, its UWB-based CPD system was one of the first mass-produced products in China to meet the direct testing requirements of C-NCAP.
Huawei has released the Qiankun Intelligent Driving CAS 4.0/5.0 system, which integrates multi-dimensional perception data such as vision and millimeter-wave radar. This system can autonomously plan a route, enter the emergency lane, and automatically call for help after detecting driver incapacitation. Meanwhile, the latest AMS three-in-one in-cabin AI multimodal perception system is gaining a deep understanding of the driver’s intentions from multiple dimensions.
Desay SV’s real competitive advantage lies in the fact that it not only provides individual sensors such as DMS/OMS, but also highly integrated, mass-producible AI cockpit solutions, including domain controllers. It is a truly integrated hardware and software full-stack Tier 1 supplier.
MINIEYE: A Dark Horse in Integrating In-Cockpit Interaction with AI Intelligent Agents
Chuhang Technology has achieved excellence in a key branch of “sensory organs”.
In terms of the technological depth and long-term potential of in-cabin perception technology, I think Li Auto is currently undertaking the most eye-catching technological practices, especially in the exploration of “cockpit AI”.
For in-cabin sensing technology, innovation is driven by the “distributed sensors + central processing unit” model.
When a Chinese OEM evaluates an in-cabin technology supplier, what do they prioritize? and how is that different from European or American OEMs?
For Chinese OEMs, evaluating cockpit technology suppliers is essentially a countdown to a “market-driven product experience.” Compared to Western OEMs logic of “safety and compliance driving development processes” there are significant differences in requirements, speed, and cooperation models.
Chinese OEMs require product iterations to be less than 18 months. They are more open and actively embrace the latest solutions. They are extremely sensitive and demand the ultimate cost-effectiveness, local supply chain costs are about 30-40% lower than in the West.
How does the relationship between Chinese OEMs and their in-cabin technology suppliers actually work? is it collaborative like a traditional Tier 1 model, or faster and more transactional? And is that changing?
The cooperation model in China’s in-cabin industry has evolved into an “ecological collaboration network” that transcends traditional and simple transactions. In this network, relationships are more complex and interests are more intertwined. The core is no longer simple buying and selling, but how to jointly create value in an open, efficient, and fair ecosystem.
For the engineers and companies in this room who want to either sell into China or understand what's coming out of China into their markets, what's the one thing they need to understand about the Chinese automotive ecosystem that they almost certainly don't know yet?
The operation of China’s automotive ecosystem no longer revolves around OEMs, but is defined by four forces: consumers, local governments, Tier 1 suppliers, and technology giants. Without understanding this, it’s impossible to comprehend China’s rapid R&D pace and highly competitive costs.
To summarize this ecological transformation as follows: China’s automotive industry is evolving from a goal-oriented “high-speed train” into a self-thinking and self-growing “intelligent organism.” Its driving force is no longer the visible driver in the cab, but a self-organizing and collaborative neural network permeating its entire body. Anyone accustomed to directing a “train” must first acknowledge that their own knowledge map needs updating in order to understand this “organism.”
InCabin China
At a time when China is moving faster than any other automotive market in areas like ADAS, AI-defined vehicles, intelligent cockpits, and electrification, engaging directly with the Chinese ecosystem is no longer optional for companies with global ambitions.
InCabin China 2026 November 24th-26th brings together OEMs, Tier 1s, innovators, and engineers from across the East and West to exchange technical insight, explore partnerships, and better understand the technologies, regulations, and market dynamics shaping the future of mobility. For Western companies, it’s an opportunity not just to observe innovation at scale but to build the relationships and understanding needed to compete globally.
More about the event here: InCabin China
Find Brian onsite in Detroit to say hello and chat about the Chinese market!
Want to get involved?
Join fellow engineers and specialists sharing innovations and breakthroughs at AutoSens China 2026. Contact Brian to partner with us and get involved: brian@sense-media.com
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