Tesla, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have become the first foreign carmakers approved to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in their vehicles in China, marking a potential acceleration of Beijing’s vetting process for AI services. The Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said in a notice that it registered the “Mercedes-Benz virtual assistant” as a generative AI service, while the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration approved Tesla Shanghai’s xBot service and Volvo’s local chatbot Xiao Wo. The approvals come as AI becomes increasingly embedded in hardware products, from electric vehicles to smartphones. China implemented a registration-based system for generative AI services in April 2024, requiring all such services to be officially registered before they can be offered to consumers.
The registration – a de facto examination and approval process – serves as a key regulatory requirement for foreign firms seeking to launch AI services in China. Apple has yet to receive approval to roll out its Apple Intelligence into iPhones in China, while Tesla is waiting for the go-ahead to deploy its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software locally. Domestic brands have been rushing to register their own AI services to gain a competitive edge over foreign brands. According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, 611 generative AI services had been registered as of November 1. The Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said it had registered 183 generative AI services, while Shanghai had registered 115.
The approvals for foreign carmakers offer hopes that China may be streamlining its review process. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he expected its FSD to be fully approved in China by early next year. “We have partial approval in China, and hopefully we’ll have full approval around February or March,” Musk said at Tesla’s annual general meeting. Tesla said in August it was rolling out an upgraded voice-assistant system for its vehicles in mainland China, integrating AI from DeepSeek and ByteDance to better engage customers in the world’s largest automotive market. As of mid-February, more than a dozen domestic carmakers – including BYD, Geely and Stellantis-backed start-up Leapmotor – had already announced plans to release cars with DeepSeek-enabled AI features, the South China Morning Post reports.
