A CHINESE-MADE Leapmotor C10 was travelling down Germany’s fast-moving Autobahn last year when the driver-assistance system braked sharply and jolted it to the side, as if boxed in by scooters in a crowded China megacity.

Leapmotor International’s Germany head, Martin Resch, was at the wheel and emailed engineers in Hangzhou to report the problem before going into a meeting. By the time he got out, a software update had been beamed to the electric vehicle (EV), smoothing its behaviour.