Automotive Technology · China

Chinese Electric Cars Introduce Novel Communication Features, Sparking Debate

New electric vehicles from China are incorporating advanced communication systems, including external speakers with pre-recorded and customizable messages, drawing both praise for innovation and concern over potential misuse.

News AutomationCompiled 11:05 UTC · 1 min read

An electric car's large touchscreen interface displaying communication options.

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Electric cars from China have put a new spin on an ancient way of communicating with other road users.

Drivers can use a speaker mounted in the front of cars such as the electric Mazda CX-6e as a megaphone or loudhailer to amplify their voice so that pedestrians, cyclists or other motorists can hear them clearly.

The “External Announcement” function in the new Mazda has prerecorded messages in a digitised voice that can announce that you have arrived – “hey buddy, I’m here” – or even chastise people for looking at their phone – “please look up and focus on the road, stay safe”.

You can also type announcements into the car’s dashboard and save them as shortcuts on its enormous 26.45-inch touchscreen.

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The new Mazda CX-6e has arrived in Australia.

The Mazda CX-6e has an enormous touchscreen.

Drivers can pre-load phrases into the screen.

The car can chastise other road users.

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We put it to the test – purely in the name of determined journalistic research – and couldn’t find a limit to what it will yell at pedestrians.

Yes, “see you next Tuesday”, or an extremely coarse abbreviation of that starting with the third letter of the alphabet, is considered OK.

We programmed shortcuts that would yell “Get the f*** out of the way”, “Hurry up d***head”, and “I said what I said”.

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On Instagram, a quick clip of the car’s feature attracted strong reactions.

People replied to a video of the car swearing on demand by saying “I’m sold” and “I’m obsessed” with an “Aussie lingo mode” that is “so funny” to experience.

Though others felt “this is bad”, or even downright “disgusting” to employ.

This isn’t the sort of feature normally found in a Mazda.

Mazda’s electric 6e sedan is made in China by Changan.

But this isn’t a normal Mazda.

The electric CX-6e is made in China by Changan, and is essentially a Mazda body wrapped around Chinese hardware and software, including the ability to use the car as a giant speaker.

The tech is intended to be used politely, though Aussie drivers may have other ideas.

But the tech should be used carefully. Police can issue steep fines for the use of offensive language in public – from $172 in QLD, $500 in NSW, and up to $6000 in Western Australia for particularly egregious cases.