Gasgoo Munich- At the 2026 World New Energy Vehicle Conference, Deng Chenghao—vice president of Changan Automobile and chairman of Deepal Automobile—laid out some stark numbers: car fridges are actually used just 5% of the time. Rear entertainment screens and in-car karaoke? Fewer than ten times a year.
Those figures landed like a bucket of cold water on an industry hooked on piling up features. In recent years, massive screens, mini-fridges, LiDAR arrays, and rear-seat displays have become near-mandatory at new-car launches. Automakers compete over whose screen is bigger, whose fridge runs colder, who packs in more LiDAR units.
Yet Deng's reminder cuts to the core: stacking hardware doesn't equal a better experience.
The Spec Arms Race
The NEV feature creep began accelerating around 2020.
When the NIO ET7 debuted, it packed 11 cameras, one LiDAR unit, and five millimeter-wave radars, boasting 1,016 TOPS of computing power. Around the same time, the ZEEKR 001 launched with frameless doors, air suspension, and a Yamaha sound system. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
From that point, spec sheets at launch events kept growing. When Li Auto rolled out the L9, the "fridge, TV, and big sofa" combo became its signature. The AITO M9 brought Huawei's AR-HUD, projection headlights, and rear entertainment screens. Nearly every new EV hitting the market tries to outdo rivals on the equipment list.
Image source: Li Auto
Refrigerators are now standard in mid-to-high-end EVs. From Li Auto to AITO, Denza to ZEEKR, almost every new-energy model priced at 200,000 yuan or above comes equipped with one. Rear screens have also become a staple for "family flagship" models—with some even offering three separate displays for back-seat passengers.
The logic is straightforward: higher specs make buyers feel they're getting more for their money. Amid a brutal price war, loading up on features has become a crucial way for automakers to defend their pricing. Offer more kit at the same price, and consumers are more likely to bite.
But Deng's data exposes an awkward reality: buyers are paying a premium for features they rarely touch.
Why Pile Them On If Nobody Uses Them?
Beneath the spec-sheet bloat lies a fundamental misread of what users actually want.
Take the car fridge. Automakers assume drivers will use them to chill drinks and snacks on road trips. In reality, most trips are daily commutes spanning a few dozen kilometers—hardly demanding a cooler. Even on longer journeys, drivers tend to grab cold drinks at rest stops rather than pre-stocking the car.
Rear entertainment screens face a similar fate. Carmakers envision passengers watching movies or playing games en route. Yet most back-seat riders prefer their own phones or tablets. The content ecosystem on car screens lags far behind smartphones, and the interfaces are clunkier.
Image source: Huaban
In-car karaoke sees even less action. Singing in the vehicle sounds idyllic in theory, but few actually do it. The cabin is cramped, making for a poor vocal experience; what's more, most drivers would rather listen to music or a podcast than belt out songs behind the wheel.
Deng also argued that "single-point innovation has failed." The last wave of industry breakthroughs relied heavily on isolated hardware wins, but product success no longer hinges on simply stacking parts. Systemic capability is what wins now. That insight nails the core flaw of the spec war: bolting on individual features doesn't lift the overall experience.
A fridge might be present, but if it cools poorly, holds too little, or is hard to reach, it goes unused. A rear screen might be installed, yet if the content is thin, the UI laggy, or the audio tinny, passengers will default to their phones.
Returning to Real Needs
Deng's remarks signal a broader industry rethink of the feature-adding frenzy.
A truly intuitive infotainment system shouldn't require the command, "Lower the temperature by two degrees." It should understand "I'm a bit warm" and adjust—knowing you like an old friend. That's the real direction for smart vehicles: not more hardware, but making existing hardware smarter, more useful, and more aligned with genuine needs.
In fact, some automakers are already trimming the fat. A few newly launched models have ditched low-usage rear screens, opting instead to boost system fluidity and intelligence. Others have dropped the mini-fridge in favor of extra storage space and charging ports.
Consumers are voting with their wallets, too. According to China Passenger Car Association data, the top-selling EVs since 2026 aren't the ones loaded with gimmicks—they're the ones offering the best overall experience. Models like the BYD Qin PLUS, Geely Xingyuan, and Leapmotor A10 skip the flashy specs but win market share through solid quality, sensible pricing, and strong word-of-mouth.
Deng noted that electrification isn't just the first half of the game—it spans the entire match. Battery performance keeps iterating, and R&D on ultra-fast charging and longer ranges presses on. The EV battlefield, it seems, is shifting from a spec war to a war of technology and real-world experience.
