Xiaomi, ByteDance, and JD.com all doing AI chatbots, SAIC Motor, Auto spare parts exports

Xiaomi, ByteDance, and JD.com are all on the AI chatbot bandwagon: Following Baidu’s announcement of its Ernie Bot, a senior executive at JD.com stated earlier today that the company is developing a ChatGPT-like product for the B2B space. A journalist cited “sources close to Xiaomi” today that the smartphone company is also developing an AI chatbot, while TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly developing an AI chatbot at its AI lab for use by the company’s virtual reality subsidiary PICO.

SAIC Motor had strong sales overseas in January: One of China’s Big Four automakers, SAIC Motor sold only 238,000 units in China in January, a year-on-year decrease of 47.75%. But in foreign markets, SAIC Motor sold 76,600 units, an increase of 17.08%. The company is targeting 2023 sales of 6 million vehicles, including 1.5 million new energy vehicles and 1.2 million overseas sales.

The U.S. is the biggest market for auto spare parts from China: The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) say that in 2022, the top five destinations for China’s auto spare parts were the U.S., Mexico, Russia, Belgium, and the U.K. The top ten countries cumulatively imported spare parts worth $74.46 billion from China, accounting for 46.5% of China’s total spare parts exports.