Li Auto schedules software and AI event for June 15 to explore embodied intelligence

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) announced it will hold a software and AI (artificial intelligence) event called Livis Day on June 15. The company plans to delve into the essence of embodied intelligence and its future direction in the software and AI fields during the event.

The event is scheduled to kick off at 4:30 pm Beijing Time, highlighting the Chinese EV maker's strategic ambitions. It is attempting to reposition itself as a leading AI company in the fiercely competitive domestic Chinese auto market.

Ahead of the upcoming event, the company officially launched its new-generation Li L9 extended-range SUV (sport utility vehicle) last month, offering a trim known as Livis.

The Li L9 Livis starts at 509,800 yuan ($75,150), and its intelligent configuration has become the vehicle's main marketing selling point.

This version is equipped with two in-house developed Mach M100 smart driving chips by Li Auto. Built on a 5-nanometer automotive-grade process, a single chip boasts a computing power of up to 1,280 TOPS. The company claims it is currently the world's most powerful dataflow architecture edge inference chip.

In addition, the new car features a drive-by-wire chassis, equipped with active suspension and steer-by-wire, achieving millisecond-level response.

Coinciding with the launch of the new model, Li Auto's AI glasses, Livis, also received a major OTA software update last month.

The smart glasses, which start at 1,999 yuan and weigh only 36 grams, serve as one of the windows through which Li Auto hopes its AI capabilities will reach more users.

To support its grand vision in the AI sector, Li Auto completed an organizational restructuring of its foundation model department in late May.

The company established three new secondary departments closely related to embodied intelligence: embodied engineering, embodied interaction, and embodied behavior. Meanwhile, the autonomous driving business was spun off into an independently operating secondary department during this restructuring, according to a May 29 report by local media LatePost.

These moves are closely tied to the company's secret robot project, internally codenamed Nexus. The company plans to release its first two-wheeled robot for factory manufacturing scenarios later this year to iterate its technology in closed environments.

This strategy is similar to that of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), aiming to pave the way for the future commercialization of general-purpose humanoid robots.

However, this continuous and intensive capital investment in the AI field comes at a time when Li Auto is facing financial and sales pressures.

In the first quarter of this year, the company unexpectedly recorded a net loss of 2.3 billion yuan, ending its previous streak of profitability over several quarters.

The sharp deterioration in profitability was primarily attributed to an intense market price war and a decline in average selling prices driven by changes in the product mix.

Li Auto's gross margin plummeted to 7.9% in the first quarter from 20.5% a year earlier, highlighting the vulnerability of its core business. In addition, the company's vehicle deliveries in May suffered an 18% year-on-year decline, falling to 33,350 units.

To revive sales momentum and improve profit margins, Li Auto plans to officially launch the new flagship SUV model, Li L8, in late June.

This updated model will abandon the current six-seat design and instead focus on the premium five-seat market to avoid cannibalizing sales of the Li L9.

The Li L8 will also have a Livis trim, its regulatory filing information showed.