Comparison of Tesla “FSD” in China with ADAS systems of Xpeng, Xiaomi, and more
The rollout of the Tesla “FSD” system in China created a lot of buzz online. Many enthusiasts discussed its capabilities in complex Chinese roads. Especially bearing in mind that Tesla trained the “FSD” system by using publicly available videos. CarNewsChina studied some videos of the Tesla’s “FSD” performance compared to ADAS from Xpeng, Xiaomi, Li Auto, Smart, and Volkswagen.
We put “FSD” in quotation marks since it isn’t really a full self-driving. It is an advanced driver assistance system, where the vehicle requires the driver to always supervise the process. In China, the full name of the FSD system is “FSD智能辅助驾驶软件”. It translates as “FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving Software.” We studied Tesla’s system performance compared to ADAS of its main Chinese rivals. It was tested by Chinese bloggers. Tesla cars and their rivals were driving on the same roads in the same conditions.
Tesla FSD & Xpeng Xpilot
The first video is a recording of the AutoLab live broadcast, Chinese experts took the 2024-model-year Tesla Model Y with the HW 4.0 V13.2.6 and the Xpeng P7+ Long Range Max with the XOS 5.5.4.8901. These cars were tested on a complex roundabout road with traffic lights.
In the first tested segment, two cars needed to enter the roundabout, and then move to the first exit. Both cars aced this challenge with ease. During the second test, Tesla and Xpeng had to take the second exit of the bigger roundabout.
In the third test, Model Y and P7+ needed to move to the left side of the traffic intersection. The Xpeng P7+ quickly switched lanes after leaving the roundabout, completing the test. However, the Model Y was late to change lines, so the driver needed to interrupt the process. As a result, the Tesla SUV failed the test. According to the video, the Model Y didn’t move to the left side of the road because there was an interfering car on the left.
In the fourth test, cars entered a roundabout and moved to the second exit. Both cars successfully completed the test.
Tesla FSD & Xiaomi HyperOS
The next video is another live broadcast from the AutoLab Weibo channel. The recording of this broadcast has a length of 1 hour and 21 minutes. In this test, AutoLab experts compared the Tesla Model Y’s FSD V13 with the Xiaomi SU7’s HyperOS 1.5.5.
During these videos, cars were following slightly different routes, despite their starting and destination points being the same. According to AutoLab experts, they tried to make cars follow the same route, but they still had some differences.
During the long route, Xiaomi drivers didn’t take over the process. It showed a high stability of the driving assistance system. Moreover, the average cruising speed of the HyperOS-powered SU7 was higher than Tesla’s.
The Model Y driver interrupted the self-driving process six times in total. During the first time, the driver took over the control to change the car’s route. The second time, the American crossover unexpectedly switched lanes, following the car ahead. In the third case, Tesla failed to perform a turnaround. As a result, the car applied an emergency stop, and the driver needed to take over.
The fourth time the driver needed to take over, the Model Y failed to change lanes because of an interfering car on the left. This case is similar to a short clip of the comparison between Tesla and Xpeng. For the fifth time, a similar situation occurred. The Model Y failed to move to the left line, so the driver needed to take over. We are starting to see the pattern here. And for the sixth time, Tesla tried to enter the bike lane. All in all, Xiaomi’s ADAS system performed better.
Tesla FSD & other ADAS
The longest AutoLab test lasted for more than three hours. It included the Tesla Model Y V13 and the Li Auto L9 AD Max V13. Both vehicles experienced some issues during the test. The Li Auto L9 driver took over the driving process 10 times. And the Tesla Model Y driver took control 16 times.
Another test included the Model Y V13 and the Smart #5 with the Smart OS 2.1.1 CN. By the end of the 1 hour and a half-long broadcast, the Smart #5 driver interrupted in the driving process 5 times. And the Tesla driver took over 9 times. So, the Tesla “FSD” system is competitive in China. However, it has some drawbacks due to bugs. However, this system has large potential on Chinese roads in the future.
