The view from inside a Zeekr Mix electric vehicle at one of the company’s showrooms in Shanghai, China, on March 16, 2025.
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BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Zeekr is releasing advanced driver-assistance capabilities to its local customers for free as competition heats up, Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC ahead of a launch event Tuesday.
The tech enables the car to drive nearly autonomously from one pre-set destination to another, as long as drivers keep their hands on the steering wheel and there is regulatory approval — which is increasingly the case in most major Chinese cities.
It’s the latest Chinese electric vehicle brand to upgrade its driver-assistance products as Tesla tries to attract more buyers of its own version, called Full Self Driving, in China.
Zeekr’s version will be free, rolled out to a pilot group initially and then released to the public in April, according to the company.
“Right now, in this period of development, I think subscriptions aren’t that meaningful,” CEO An said in an interview Friday, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
Given intense competition, he said, Zeekr needs to close the gap on driver assistance with market leaders and become a top player. “So we need to bear some cost,” An said, noting Zeekr previously only offered more basic driver-assistance capabilities, such as for parking.
Zeekr, which is listed in the U.S., is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Thursday ahead of the U.S. market open. Shares are up about 6% year-to-date.
Nvidia chips
CEO An said that Zeekr’s driver-assistance system uses two Nvidia Orin X chipsets and one lidar, or a light detection and ranging unit that allows a vehicle to navigate roads without relying too much on sunlight conditions.
He said a forthcoming version of the system will use Nvidia’s more advanced Thor automotive chip, one long-range lidar and four shorter-range lidar units.
“Using lidar may increase cost, but this reflects how much we value safety,” An said. He said the driver-assistance system for Zeekr cars sold overseas will not use the Nvidia chips for now, given different regulations and local market demand.
Zeekr’s driver-assistance system will also be used for fellow EV brand Lynk & Co.’s cars, An said, and potentially vehicles from parent company Geely. Zeekr officially acquired Lynk & Co. this year.
From price war to driver-assistance competition
Sales of Nvidia’s “self-driving platforms” helped drive the chipmaker’s revenue from automotive and robotics to a record $570 million in the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year.
Also reflecting market demand, major lidar producer Hesai said this month that its lidar shipments have more than doubled annually for four straight years as of 2024.
Hesai’s CFO Andrew Fan told CNBC last week that the company expects significant growth in advanced driver-assistance systems this year from last year, and noted an industry joke that China’s electric car market has shifted from a price war to a war over driver assistance.
Over the last two years, the technology has increasingly become a selling point for new energy vehicles in China, which include battery-only and hybrid-powered cars.
NEV giant BYD in February announced it was rolling out driver-assist capabilities to more than 20 of its car models. While current features mostly focus on parking and highway navigation, the company said an upgrade with point-to-point driver assistance would likely be issued by the end of 2025.
The most basic version of BYD’s driver-assistance system uses Horizon Robotics’ chipset along with Nvidia‘s Orin, while more advanced versions only use other Nvidia chips, according to Nomura’s research.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Tesla — Elon Musk’s EV company saw shares sliding another 3.9%, bringing month-to-date losses to a whopping 23%. The sell-off came after Tesla’s China rival Zeekr said it is rolling out advanced driver assistance-system for free . Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Tesla amid lowered expectations around pricing for the the company’s self-driving capabilities. Alphabet — Shares of the Google parent slid 2.7%. Google said on Tuesday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire cloud security startup Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash deal. This deal is slated to be Google’s largest-ever acquisition. Palantir — Shares slid 2.4%, putting their month-to-date losses at around 6%. Jefferies also reiterated the defense technology stock as underperform , saying valuation remains a concern. Nvidia — The chipmaker retreated 1.7% ahead of the CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote speech at the company’s GTC AI Conference. Lucid — The electric vehicle stock climbed 14% following Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to equal weight from underweight. Morgan Stanley said Lucid has an emerging bull case tied to artificial intelligence. Sarepta Therapeutics — The biotechnology company plunged 20% after disclosing the death of a man who was treated with its Elevidys gene therapy. Sarepta said in a statement that acute liver injury is a known potential side effect. Eastman Kodak — Shares of the film and chemicals manufacturer fell 4.6% after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter results. Eastman Kodak posted consolidated revenues of $266 million, compared with $275 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting a 3% decrease. The company reported a jump in net income for the fourth quarter, however, generating $26 million in net income for the quarter. That’s up from $5 million in the year-ago period. Peabody Energy — The coal mining company advanced 3.7% after President Donald Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social , said he is authorizing energy production using coal. Willis Tower Watson — The commercial insurance stock climbed 2% on the heels of UBS’ upgrade to buy from neutral. UBS said the company has seen faster improvement on operating and free cash flow margins than peers. Millrose Properties — The residential land developer popped nearly 10% after the company declared a dividend and issued new guidance. Millrose will pay shareholders 38 cents per share. It added that it sees fiscal second-quarter earnings per share between 65 cents per share and 68 cents. Hims & Hers Health — The digital health stock tumbled 8% after the Food and Drug Administration shared concerns around unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss, including compounded versions. Hims & Hers began prescribing compounded semaglutide last year. — CNBC’s Brian Evans, Pia Singh, Yun Li and Fred Imbert contributed reporting.
Bullish sentiment for stocks cratered in historic fashion this past month as President Donald Trump’s haphazard rollout of tariffs rattled markets and raised concerns about economic growth, according to the most widely followed investor survey on Wall Street. Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager Survey for this month saw its biggest pullback in overall investor sentiment since March 2020 — back when stocks plummeted as the U.S. grappled with Covid-19. That’s resulted in what investment strategist Michael Hartnett deemed a “bull crash” in sentiment. This month’s steep decline is the seventh largest over the last 24 years and brought the overall sentiment measure to a seven-month low. The sentiment index is comprised of three components: equity allocation, cash holdings and economic growth expectations. March recorded the largest drop in investors’ exposure to U.S. equities on record among major investors. Meanwhile, investors stockpiled cash at a clip not seen since the pandemic-induced market sell-off in March 2020. .SPX YTD mountain The S & P 500 in 2025 The survey also showed the second biggest slide in global growth expectations in its history. This poll’s global growth outlook has historically correlated to S & P 500 performance, so souring sentiment on this measure means “bad news for stocks,” Hartnett said. Taking a contrarian standpoint, Hartnett said the rapid drop in sentiment could signal that most of the recent pullback is over. However, he added that positioning in the survey is “nowhere near” levels that reflect an “extreme bear” environment or one in which investors should “close-your-eyes-and-buy.” Bank of America’s March survey comes as investors wonder what’s next for U.S. stocks after fears around tariffs and cooling growth catalyzed a swift decline from all-time highs. The S & P 500 on Tuesday fought to remain out of correction territory , which refers to a drop of at least 10% from a recent high.
Texas is continuing to stake a claim as a rival to Wall Street as a key financial hub in the United States, with Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday saying his state has a “stronger brand than New York.”
“Capital Markets are realizing that the place to be is Texas,” Abbott said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Abbott’s comments come as Texas continues to emerge as a financial center, complete with its own stock exchange. The Texas Stock Exchange plans to launch in 2026 and recently announced several key hires for its exchange-traded products business.
The financial industry’s leading companies are also working to increase their presence in the Lone Star State. The New York Stock Exchange announced in February it would relocate its Chicago operations to Texas, and on Tuesday, Nasdaq announced it will open a regional headquarters in Dallas.
“Nasdaq is deeply ingrained in the fabric of the Texas economy, and we look forward to maintaining our leadership as the partner of choice for the state’s most innovative companies,” Adena Friedman, Nasdaq CEO, said in a press release.
Trading at most major stock exchanges around the world, including the NYSE and Nasdaq, is done almost entirely electronically. Stocks can trade on multiple exchanges in different locations although they have one designated primary listing.
Texas is also making a play to rival Delaware as a legal home to major companies, touting a more business-friendly legal environment. That includes making it harder for small shareholders to sue companies, as happened to Tesla in Delaware in a legal fight over CEO Elon Musk’s compensation. Tesla has since shifted its state of incorporation to Texas.
“A guy who had the [stock holdings] value of less than a Tesla vehicle was able to try to upend the entire corporate practice of the Tesla company,” Abbott said Tuesday. “That’s just wrong. What we are trying to codify in Texas is ownership of at least 3% of a business before a derivative action can be brought against a company.”