Li Auto unveils Li L9 Pro - lower price, no LiDAR

Don't you just love it when tech companies roll out those "Pro" variants of their flagship products? No, we aren't talking about a smartphone this time. We're talking about the new release from Li Auto – the Li L9 Pro. A more wallet-friendly luxury electric SUV? There's gotta be a catch. And there is - this thing comes without a LiDAR.

What is a LiDAR, you might ask? Well, it's basically a high-tech pair of eyes for self-driving vehicles. But apparently, Li Auto thinks the Li L9 Pro can do just fine without it. In a world where almost every car manufacturer seems to be betting their house on LiDAR, it's quite a bold move. Does it remind you of any other company?

It's not just about the lack of LiDAR, though. The Li L9 Pro has also swapped its assisted driving chips. While the older sibling, Li L9 Max, was powered by two Nvidia Orin X chips, the Pro version now comes with Journey 5 from Horizon Robotics. Is it a downgrade? Not quite. This new assisted driving system, dubbed AD Pro, still packs a punch with a hefty 128 TOPS of computing power, and it solely relies on vision to navigate.

Aside from these tweaks, the Li L9 Pro and Li L9 Max are practically identical twins. Well, except for the price tag. With all the aforementioned changes, the Pro version comes in at a cool $4,200 less than its Max counterpart, making it a tempting option for potential customers. Can we call a $56,000 electric SUV wallet-friendly? When you consider the whole package and its competition - the Li L9 Pro looks really attractive.

Li Auto's naming convention seems to draw inspiration from Apple's playbook. Just like how you have iPhone, the iPhone Pro, and iPhone Max models, Li Auto uses Pro and Max to differentiate between its varying assisted driving systems across models. This may not be a revolutionary strategy, but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Despite its price cut and lack of LiDAR, the Li L9 Pro is not a desperate move from a struggling company. In fact, Li Auto has secured a respectable 22 percent of the premium SUV market share. Even the big dogs like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi have roughly 20 percent each. The Li L9 Pro is Li Auto's attempt to extend its lead, but only time will tell if this bold move pays off.

However, there's one minor hiccup - production capacity. In July, Li Auto managed to deliver 34,134 units, which is only a modest increase from June's numbers. The company is pushing its limits and is facing production bottlenecks. Despite all that, the company promises deliveries are set to start this month.

Via