Until very recently, vehicles were used as mobility tools — they helped people to travel from point A to point B. Now, however, vehicles are taking on new roles, especially in China, where they are on their way to becoming digital devices on wheels.

Li Xiaolin, a 27-year old lawyer in Beijing, who is considering buying her first car, said: "Of course the new-generation vehicle should look fancy. More important are the smart features onboard. I don't think cars nowadays should look like what my dad has driven all his life. It should be a place you like sitting in."

She is comparing models from Neta, Xpeng and Aion, all of which are Chinese startups that enjoy wide recognition among young, tech-savvy car buyers in the country.

In China, the world's largest and most dynamic market for new energy vehicles, or NEVs, it has almost become a must for newly launched models to have functions that were part of science fiction not long ago.

Most electric vehicles or EVs now available in the Chinese market can adjust seating and other personalized things automatically for the driver thanks to facial ID technology, and the driver uses voice commands, with different dialects recognizable, to do everything from navigation to music and air conditioning adjustments.

And they don't have to be expensive to have such features. For a budget of around 150,000 yuan ($21,680), there are models from China's largest SUV maker Great Wall Motors, which can detect if the driver is tired or in a blue mood and automatically select music for them, if they turn the mode on.

Those from Aion can go and park themselves after the driver and passengers get off, and they will drive out of parking lots to pick up the passengers at designated places after a tap on the cellphone screen.

The trend started to emerge around a decade ago, when Tesla introduced a bigger-than-usual display into its Model S series, instead of conventional buttons found in established carmakers.

Startups that came later used more and bigger displays to impress the customers, vowing to offer them something totally new from what they have long been accustomed to.

With the displays have come more onboard infotainment, and carmakers then add other features to make their vehicles stand out among 100 plus new launches a year, said Zhang Yongwei, vice-president of the China EV 100, an industry think tank.

One example is the Aion Y. Targeting the young, it has a 14-inch display, which allows the occupants to sing karaoke and play video games.

Or they can use the 50-inch projector screen and adjust the seats to turn them into a sofa to relax and enjoy a movie in comfort.

No, this is not a concept car but a mass-produced model that has been in the market since 2021.

More stunning vehicles were seen at this year's Auto Shanghai in late April, which was the world's first major brick-and-mortar motoring exhibition this year.

Chinese startup Hozon launched its Neta GT. Besides its stunning capacity for acceleration from zero to 100 kilometers/hour in 3.7 seconds, it offers an array of interesting modes.

For instance, with a tap on the phone screen, connected via the customized app, or on the dashboard screen, the romantic mode can be turned on to play music or recordings set in advance, with videos played or pictures shown on the 17.6-inch display, and ambience lights will be turned on as well to create a perfect atmosphere to, say, propose.

By selecting the karaoke mode, windows will be shut, the cabin will give off fragrance, ambience lights will turn on and a karaoke app will launch, resembling the real places.

The rise of the new segment in the car market has seen partnerships between technology companies and carmakers.

Baidu and Geely are working on a brand called Jidu, which is introducing the latest technologies from the internet giant including its ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence services.

The moves signify the company's efforts to offer a better smart car experience to consumers by tapping into Geely's manufacturing expertise and Baidu's digital technology capabilities.

Another Chinese giant, Huawei, has more partners including Seres, BAIC Group's Arcfox and Changan Auto's Avatr.

Their models feature Huawei's operating system, which allows users to connect their Huawei phones easily to the vehicles, and its autonomous driving solutions.

JAC is the latest member on the list of Huawei's carmaker partners. The two are joining hands to build premi-um models that will be priced over 1 million yuan.

They are building a 2.6 billion yuan plant in Hefei, Anhui province, whose construction is expected to be finished in early 2024.

Edward Wang, a J.D. Power China analyst, said smart features and exciting onboard experiences are becoming increasingly important factors for car buyers.

"Buyers do not necessarily purchase a model solely because of these functions, but they certainly won't buy a car if it doesn't have them," he said.

Wang said Chinese carmakers are leading in this area thanks to their speed in integrating such technologies into their models and, more importantly, the customers who are open to new things.

Global carmakers are coming up with their solutions to seek status in the new segment similar to what they have long enjoyed in the gasoline car era.

At the Shanghai Auto Show, German carmaker BMW showcased its concept i Vision Dee, which among other things boasts a projection of driving-related data and other information extending across the windscreen.

This pioneering form of visualization also allows such data and signs to merge with the actual roads on the screen via such technologies as augmented reality.

BMW said the concept will serve as the basis for developing an advanced version of the head-up display, a technology BMW introduced 20 years ago as a world first in the automotive industry.

The BMW i Vision Dee also impressed visitors to the show with upgraded color change technology. An ePaper film allows up to 32 colors and an endless variety of patterns to be created and changed in seconds on the model.

Volkswagen, the best-selling foreign carmaker in China, is speeding up efforts to equip its EVs with functions available in local marques' models.

The ID.7, its first mid-size electric sedan, which can be seen as a Passat in its gasoline lineup, will be produced in China at its joint venture FAW-Volkswagen.

Among other things, the locally manufactured version will come equipped with the carmaker's latest driving-assist system, as well as an updated augmented reality head-up display.

Volkswagen's ID. series EVs, though selling well in Europe, lag far behind Chinese brands including BYD, Aion and Geely, although they are still more popular than those from other global carmakers like Toyota and GM.

The carmaker has realized that it needs to catch up. Last year, Volkswagen's software arm Cariad set up its first subsidiary in China to develop relevant functions for the car group's models bearing marques from Audi to Porsche.

In the same year, it inked a deal worth 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) with Chinese startup Horizon, which was Volkswagen's largest single investment in China, to tailor driving-assist functions for its EVs sold in the country.

In April, Volkswagen announced that it would invest around 1 billion euros to establish a facility in Hefei, Anhui province, which will specialize in development, innovation, and procurement for smart electric cars.

The facility will integrate state-of-the-art technologies from local suppliers into the development process at an early stage, to adapt vehicles even faster to the wishes of Chinese customers, it said.

"For us, it's very important thinking about the software ecosystem which is different between the western world and the eastern world. The expectations of Chinese customers are different from those in North America or in Europe or in South America, for example," said Volkswagen AG CEO Oliver Blume.

"In the smart car segment, we can learn a lot from the Chinese innovations and technology and the requirements of the Chinese customers who are using their cars as a software device."

Japanese carmaker Nissan made the global debut of a China-designed electric SUV.

Among other things, Arizon concept features a virtual personal assistant named Eporo, which can interact with occupants onboard in a human-like manner and provide accurate responses utilizing time, weather and other data.

Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta said: "China is one of the most technologically sophisticated markets in the world. Market and customer needs are rapidly changing, making China a global driver of electrification as well as a leader in connected car services."

Auto parts suppliers are coming up with their solutions. At the Shanghai auto event, software company Hangzhou Arcvideo Technology Co showcased a product that can adjust ambience lights based on the music or the video played to create an immersive experience for the occupants onboard.

Chinese consultancy Market Monitor estimated that the surge in interest in such new features will see the global onboard infotainment market grow at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of over 9 percent from 2021 to 2027, with China as the main driver.

Spanish company Antolin brought the entire of its top management team to the Shanghai Auto Show, said its CEO Ramon Sotomayor.

"We come to China with a learning attitude because there's a lot of things that are happening here these days that give us a lot of new information that we can couple with our long history in the automotive industry," he said.

As one of the world's largest manufacturers in the car interiors market, Antolin showcased its latest products at the show, including a new access system as well as a sliding floor console.

Antolin entered the Chinese market in 2003 and has since expanded its local footprint. It now has 25 plants and three technical centers in the country, employing over 3,600 people.

The company is not new to the smart EV sector. Sotomayor said 40 percent of the electric vehicles produced in 2022 worldwide had some Antolin products.

"So Antolin is part of the new technology, of the new electric mobility in the world. But I think in China things are happening faster … There is a much more open attitude to new ideas," he said.

Auto parts suppliers, including Antolin, are helping with their idea based on their expertise.

"We see a lot of screens that are fine, but if they could be integrated within the design of the cockpit, then it would be more appealing. And we are developing a lot of solutions, such as smart surfaces or smart sensors, that are within the cockpit itself," said Sotomayor.

At the same auto show, German company ZF's exhibits included an 800-volt e-drive system, a smart chassis system that features in Lotus' China-made Eletre SUV, and a 4D imaging radar, which is used in SAIC's Rising Auto marque.

ZF said it has also won orders for its driving-assist system, which includes features like multilane changing and memory parking assistance, from a Chinese automaker, and this vehicle will be launched in both the Chinese and European markets later this year.

"China has become a global center of innovation and we have a long-term commitment to the Chinese market. Together with our customers, we will grow and innovate new mobility technologies," said ZF CEO Holger Klein.

Last year, 32 percent of new gasoline vehicles had some form of driving-assist functions, and the figure was 46 percent in the NEV sector, according to statistics from the China Society of Automotive Engineers.

By 2025, up to 70 percent of new vehicles sold in the country will feature driving-assist functions, said Zhang Kai, chairman of Haomo.ai, a Chinese autonomous driving startup.

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