LeEco LeSee Pro
The Tesla killer from China had its North
American debut in San Francisco last night. It didn’t go without a hitch but eventually LeEco
managed to get the new LeSee Pro on stage. Th LeSee Pro is an updated version
of the LeSee concept that debuted in Beijing in April. The Pro has a
slightly more realistic front, new wheels, new side skirts, and a new rear
bumper with a diffuser.
The LeSEE has been developed by LeEco. LeEco is the new name of LeTV, China’s largest
internet-television company, often compared to. LeEco is like Alphabet for : a holding incorporating
various businesses, such as Le.com, the original internet TV activities, LeMall.com, a web shop with LE-branded electronics, LeCloud cloud computing, LeEco Microcredit internet-finance, andLeAuto, a connected-car system maker.
LeEco also oversees three car-making ventures: Faraday Future in the U.S., an electric version of the Aston Martin Rapide,
and this new LeSEE electric sedan. In China, LeEco owns a stake in Beijing Electric Vehicle
Corporation (BJEV), an EV maker under the Beijing Auto Industry Corporation (BAIC). The deal with BJEV includes the embedding of LeEco’s EcoLink
connected-car software in BJEV’s cars. In the future LeEco wants to connect the products of
its companies into a digital ecosystem, hence the Eco in
LeEco.
The LeSEE concept car is a four-door sedan-coupe
with suicide doors. The original LeSee concept was able to move under its own
power and it could be remote-controlled with a smartphone. This was
demonstrated during a media event in Beijing in April. U.S.
media said the LeSee Pro didn’t move or start, which however doesn’t
necessarily mean it can’t.
LeEco says the concept car is fitted with autopilot
technology for autonomous driving, with sensors located in a roof-based pod. In
autonomous mode the steering wheel folds into the dashboard. This
indicates the LeSEE is fully autonomous and not semi-autonomous like the Tesla
Model S where the driver still needs to keep his hands close to the wheel.
The eventual LeSEE production car is primarily
intended for the Chinese market. It will be manufactured in a brand new factory in Huzhou City. LeEco has
said it will have a top speed of 211 km/h,
and that it will be cheaper than the Model S, which starts at 730,000 yuan in
China (US$ 112,000). LeEco doesn’t say when production will start, but has said
that the production car has entered the “testing phase”.
Sadly LeEco didn’t say anything new about the power
train. Instead they talked a lot about their ecosystem. The production car will
be fitted with an “entertainment lounge” which will include LeMusic, LeMovies,
and LeWork. Since when is work entertainment? Anyway, all these services
will be offered by LeEco via the cloud to make driving in an autonomous car a
bit less boring.
Great to see LeEco is still on track with the LeSee.
We expect another updated concept on the Beijing Auto Show next April.
Production is set to start sometime late next year. No production date set for
Faraday Future yet. One might also wonder: one company has an electric
autonomous sedan, the other an electric autonomous SUV. Why not combine them
under one brand? We bet that will eventually happen in the future, as for now
it seems Jia Yueting isn’t boss enough at Faraday to make it happen.
