This article only represents the author's own views.

Ecarx Holdings Inc. (ECX.US) is having some trouble getting out of the China starting gate, despite a recent string of announcements designed to show its autonomous driving technology is gaining momentum from a growing customer base that includes many global names. But a closer look at that list shows that most of the names are either tied to the company’s controlling stakeholder, the founder of China’s own Geely, or to other Chinese carmakers.

Nobody said it was going to be easy for Ecarx or any of its peers to find a market on the global stage. While China has come to dominate certain areas of the emerging smartcar market, most notably batteries, Western governments, led by the U.S., have made a point of saying they don’t intend to yield so quickly in other technologies that will power the cars of the future.