Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles with a high level of autonomy are trying to imitate Tesla in many ways. Since its head, Elon Musk, is convinced that the release of humanoid robots Optimus will eventually become the main source of revenue, Chinese companies are ready to follow its example. Li Auto, in particular, speaks with confidence about its intention to start producing humanoid robots.
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Li Auto, also known by its brand name Lixiang, is one of the few startups that has managed to break even on electric traction motor vehicles in the Chinese market. The basis of the Li Auto product range are hybrid crossovers of medium and higher price levels, whose power plant uses a “series hybrid” type layout, in which the internal combustion engine plays the role of an energy generator for traction motors. The all-electric Mega minivan released by Li Auto is not popular, contrary to the hopes placed on it.
Li Xiang, as noted by CnEVPost, admitted during his recent speech at the AI Talk event that his company is “100 percent likely” to be involved in the creation of humanoid robots. True, the management of Li Auto is not ready to give a release date for this type of product, since it believes that even the autonomous functions of cars now require further improvement, and they are a simpler form of robots compared to humanoid ones. “If we can’t even solve the problem of level 4 autonomy now, how will we solve more complex problems?” — the founder of Li Auto spoke rhetorically. At the current level of robotics development, humanoid machines could have very limited capabilities, he explained. Chinese companies Nio and Zeekr are already experimenting with using humanoid robots on their production lines, but they are supplied by UBTech Robotics.
By the way, Li Auto is not inspired at all by the idea of creating driverless taxis, unlike Tesla. According to Li Xiang, the company’s priority is to create a “home on wheels” that would make people happy. It is noteworthy that the founder of rival company Nio, William Li, is also indifferent to the idea of creating an unmanned taxi, but XPeng is preparing to enter this market in the second half of the year before last. At that time, the company managed to obtain permission from the Guangzhou authorities to test prototypes of unmanned taxis based on the G9 crossover. XPeng intends to release driverless taxis on the market in 2026, but is not ready to manage fleets on its own.