Li Auto, a prominent player in China’s electric vehicle market, is making strategic moves to bolster its technological prowess. The company’s latest initiative involves establishing a chip research and development office in Hong Kong, signaling its ambition to compete in the high-stakes world of automotive semiconductors.
The new Hong Kong office will serve as an international technology exchange hub, operating under Li Auto’s chip pre-research division. This move underscores the company’s commitment to developing cutting-edge solutions for its vehicles, particularly in the realm of intelligent driving.
Li Auto is currently recruiting AI chip architects for positions comparable to senior expert roles at leading Chinese tech companies. The team, expected to comprise around 10 members, will focus on developing software for intelligent driving chips, highlighting the company’s emphasis on in-house innovation.
Li Auto’s foray into chip design extends beyond software. The company is reportedly working on two types of chips: an AI inference chip for autonomous driving and a SiC power chip for motor controllers. The AI inference chip, said to be similar in architecture to Tesla’s HW 5.0 (AI5), boasts an impressive 40 billion transistors.
However, Tesla has not yet unveiled the design of HW 4.0. So how has Li Auto managed to learn about the HW 5.0 architecture?
With a trial run at TSMC already underway, Li Auto anticipates results by Q4 this year, with mass production slated for 2026. This timeline suggests an aggressive push to bring proprietary chip technology to market, potentially giving Li Auto a competitive edge in the EV industry.
Li Auto’s technological ambitions are backed by strong market performance. The company achieved record-breaking deliveries in September 2024, with 53,709 vehicles delivered, marking a 48.9% increase YoY. Q3 2024 saw 152,831 vehicles delivered, representing a 45.4% growth compared to the previous year.
As Li Auto approaches the milestone of one million cumulative deliveries, its investment in chip technology could play a crucial role in maintaining this growth trajectory. The company’s ability to integrate advanced, in-house developed chips into its vehicles may become a key differentiator in the increasingly competitive EV market.
As Li Auto chips away at technological barriers, the question remains: will this investment in semiconductor innovation propel the company to the forefront of the EV revolution, or will it encounter unexpected roadblocks along the way?
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