Here’s an interesting new development for those embracing the “Chinamaxxing” trend. Imax has partnered with Chinese company Goer Dynamics to develop the first Imax entertainment system designed specifically for self-driving cars.
Unveiled on Wednesday at a ceremony in Qingdao by the two companies, the system combines Imax’s exclusive acoustic architecture — designed for extremely high dynamic range, distortion-free, bass-heavy sound — with a foldable 4K HDR display that adapts to changing light conditions on the road. The partners are promoting the system as a natural solution for turning a car into a “third living space” through autonomous driving, and plan to jointly market it to premium automakers across China, with modular configurations for different types of vehicles. The first systems are expected to enter commercial production by the end of 2026.
Founded in 2020, Goer Dynamics is the premium audio-visual arm of Goer Group, the Shandong-based electronics empire whose flagship Goertek assembles Apple’s Meta’s Quest headphones and AirPods. The company owns the popular Danish brand Dynaudio, along with Libratone, and says its in-car entertainment systems are already installed in nearly 3 million hybrid and electric cars.
“With the advent of autonomous driving, we believe that car buyers will increasingly focus on immersive entertainment systems in their purchasing decisions, and we are excited to work with Goer Group – a key manufacturing partner for some of the world’s largest technology companies – to seize this opportunity,” said Daniel Manwaring, CEO of Imax China, adding that the company believes it can “set a new standard in premium in-car entertainment.”
The deal promises to give Imax a small piece of the world’s most technologically aggressive car market. In May, new energy vehicles – that is, electric and hybrid vehicles – accounted for a record 62.9 percent of retail car sales in China, and for the first time ever, not a single combustion engine model ranked among the country’s top 10 best-selling models. Local brands now control nearly 70% of the Chinese car market, compared to less than 40% in 2020.
Volkswagen, the largest Western player in China, saw its market share fall to 9.7 percent from 14.7 percent a decade ago, while the combined share of American brands fell to 5 percent, according to consulting firm Alex Partners.
State support has played an important role in the rapid rise of the local industry, but many analysts also point to the way local manufacturers are out-innovating their Western rivals, offering diverse and sophisticated ranges of electric vehicles packed with gadgets and attractive features. Chinese models are now routinely equipped with in-car karaoke systems, mechanical foot massagers, swivel lounge seats, or even headlights that can project movies onto a wall, turning any parking space into a drive-in cinema. The fierce domestic price war has hurt Chinese electric vehicle producers and boosted innovation. Chinese automakers now offer software upgrades and updated cabin experiences in cycles measured in quarters — much faster than the older, relatively limited electric vehicle offerings from Western producers.
China’s deployment of autonomous vehicles has hit some speed bumps, but the country is widely expected to advance in this area as well.
China now has more robotaxis than anywhere else on Earth. Baidu’s Apollo Go – the country’s rough answer to Waymo – recorded 3.2 million paid rides in the first quarter of 2026, more than double from the previous year, covering a 3,000-square-kilometre area in Wuhan and serving about 8 million residents. The company says every car out there is already profitable. Nasdaq-listed rivals Pony.ai and WeRide operate thousands of driverless taxis. But China’s legal framework remains a patchwork from city to city. Municipalities are fully licensing commercial driverless rides within geographic areas, while privately owned vehicles are still limited to supervised assistance. Regulators slowed the fleet expansion this spring after nearly 100 Apollo Go cars froze in the middle of the road in Wuhan, and the resulting autonomous traffic jam went viral on Chinese social media. However, experts expect the number of robo-taxis in China to grow to tens of thousands by the end of 2026, and Goldman Sachs expects the country’s robo-taxi market to rise to $47 billion by 2035.
The new in-car project reinforces IMAX’s unique position in China among Western entertainment brands. While content studios, facing myriad regulatory challenges, have largely withdrawn from producing titles targeting the world’s second-largest economy in recent years, IMAX retains the largest share of the country’s global screen footprint, with 810 of the total 1,864 installed IMAX systems — about 43 percent — located in Greater China as of the end of last year.
