A car like a smartphone: NIO, AITO and BAIC push out big OTA updates

Software is now the fastest-moving part of a car in China. In the last week of September 2026, three manufacturers released large OTA updates that change what cars already on the road can do.

NIO: Cedar S 1.6.0 for four models

On 25 September NIO announced the full rollout of its "Cedar S" system in version 1.6.0 for the ES6, EC6, ET5 and ET5T. The update brings more than 30 new or improved features across four areas: the cockpit, the NOMI assistant, ride comfort and driver assistance. The dashboard now switches on its own depending on the gear lever position. In P it shows the artistic dashboard, in D the map view. Drivers can change themes with gestures, and a minimal HUD mode leaves only speed, the speed limit and lane guidance. The HUD also counts down to the next traffic light change. Navigation gained lane information at toll gates, whether for ETC or manual service. The audio system can store up to nine custom listening modes, including a profile that the "individual sound taste" creator builds in three minutes.

The EC6 received a track mode with a dedicated interface, two engine sound variants, coloured ambient lighting and calibration of the suspension, steering and cooling. It also gained three-stage adjustment of the extending spoiler and video recording from the track using dashcam data. NIO raised the limit for manually set speed on national and provincial roads to 100 km/h. On motorways and expressways in rain, the car now slows down on its own and changes lanes less often. Another addition is a 20-second clip recording of a "special moment", triggered by holding the right button on the steering wheel.

AITO: Huawei ADS 5 and charging prices at stations

AITO published the contents of its holiday HarmonyOS update, which cars began downloading on the night of 24 to 25 September. The package includes support for Huawei ADS 5, which puts the indicator camera image on the central screen. It also adds category search for "on route, nearby, at destination", editable waypoints and energy prices broken down by time zone at charging stations. Baidu Maps is in there too, along with remote conversation through the external speaker, a Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA screen casting and iPhone mirroring, a blind spot notification in the HUD and an interior overheating protection mode.

BAIC BJ40: the hybrid's first update

The third example is the Chinese school of "cheaper electronics in combustion-electric cars". On 24 September BAIC began the first OTA update for the BJ40 with a range extender and an integrated 15.6-inch screen. The car, priced from 179 800 yuan (252 km of electric range, 1 300 km combined), received Apple CarPlay, karaoke, a virtual pet on the screen, AES automatic obstacle avoidance and a sentry mode with remote viewing in the manufacturer's app.

All three updates share one idea: manufacturers treat the car as a networked device, not a product frozen at the moment of purchase. It is also the cheapest way to keep a customer in the dealership, and the most effective way to shorten a model's life cycle without a body facelift.