China's electric vehicle industry is embracing a new terminology that reflects the evolving nature of its products. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Pan Jian, co-chairman of CATL, a leading battery manufacturer and key supplier to Tesla, introduced the term 'EIV' or Electric Intelligent Vehicle.

Pan explained that the shift from 'EV' to 'EIV' signifies the perfect marriage between electric power and intelligent technologies in modern vehicles. This combination enables a suite of new features that were previously impossible with traditional combustion-engine cars.

The transition to EIVs is driven by China's booming EV market, which has seen an influx of affordable models packed with high-tech features. Companies like Xiaomi and Xpeng have released vehicles with advanced autonomous driving capabilities, voice recognition systems, and AI-defined functionalities.

Major players in the industry, including BYD, have announced significant investments in artificial intelligence and self-driving technology. This push towards more intelligent vehicles is seen as a strategy to stay competitive in China's crowded EV market.

The trend towards EIVs is facilitated by the ease of incorporating intelligent functions into electric vehicles due to their chip-based architecture. This advantage has attracted consumer electronics companies like Xiaomi and Huawei to enter the EV market.

China's robust talent pool of software engineers, nurtured by tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, has given the country's EV industry a significant edge in developing these intelligent systems.

The shift towards EIVs comes as EV sales in China are projected to rise by 20% this year, surpassing 12 million units and outpacing conventional car sales for the first time. This trend underscores the rapid transformation of China's automotive landscape and its growing influence on global EV technology and market dynamics.