China’s LeEco challenges EV players with self-driving electric car concept

LeEco, a leading Internet ecosystem and technology company based in China, launched its first concept of a self-driving electric car – the LeSEE Pro – in the US last month, in a move aimed at challenging the global electric-vehicle (EV) market.   
Seen as a connected smart device, not an engine as such, as its EV will be powered by electricity instead of petrol, LeEco expects to add this newly diversified product line into its family of ecosystem services and deliver it via its network of more than 700 million registered users. 
Over the next five years, many cars with an automated self-driving function will likely be seen on the roads globally, although it is less certain how long it will take for these to become more widely used in China, Tianxin (Tony) Nie, senior vice president of LeEco for strategic investments and car business, said after the product-launch event. 
“China is now very aggressive for EV cars and the new car-sharing business model. If we really want to promote the car-sharing business model, the automated self-driving function is very important,” he said. 
Production of the LeSEE Pro is expected to be kick-started next year, as LeEco’s strategic partners and the production line are already in place, he said, adding that the plan is for the vehicle to be initially on sale in the US market, positioning itself as a premium car.  
More details regarding production, estimated volumes and launch date will be revealed later, the executive said.  
“I think the US will be the first country to really promote automated EVs, which is why we have come to the US to put the technology and R&D here,” Nie said.
“We will launch the car step by step … Not just one model will be launched, but a series of LeSEE Pros,” he added. 
Apart from the launch of the LeSEE Pro concept car, an array of new smart devices was unveiled to the US market at LeEco’s big event held in San Francisco last month. 
Thailand, meanwhile, is targeted as one of the Southeast Asian markets under the Chinese company’s timeline expansion plan set for next year. 
The types and models, however, have yet to be revealed, but should not be much different from the products launched at the event, according to Brian Hui, head of Global LeMall.  

The Le Pro3 features a 5.5-inch screen, brushed-metal backing, videos in 4K, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera and an 8MP front-facing camera.
Key highlights were smart phones, smart television sets, smart bikes and virtual reality, with LeEco executives claiming that they were not just devices for sale, but also services equipped with what it called a “disruptive” ecosystem, coming with “disruptive” affordable prices. 
LeEco “superphones” and a smart TV introduced at the event are priced almost 40 per cent lower than products offered by competitors at the same level of specification.  
Two smart-phone models – the Le Pro3 and L S3 – and the new uMax85 smart TV, were introduced.  
The Le Pro3 is LeEco’s flagship “ecophone” that combines sleek design, performance and a unique way to consume content, as well as offering a long-life battery and enhanced by a Qualcomm processor, while the Le S3 is like a budget smart phone, Hui said.  

The uMax85, left, an 85-inch display, is one of a TV series that houses a slim industrial design packed with HDR and Dolby Vision technology.

The uMax85, an 85-inch display TV, houses a slim industrial design packed with HDR and Dolby Vision technology, which its rivals’ brands do not put in.  
Other vision-connected screens, including smart bikes and virtual reality, were also previewed, demonstrating the ability to use content seamlessly with state-of-the-art technology equipped.  
The ecosystem putting users at the centre, and allowing them to experience content across their different devices seamlessly and easily at the touch of a button, is considered as being at the heart of the Chinese tech company’s business strategy. 
Likewise is the LeSEE Pro self-driving electric-car concept, under which users do not need a driver as, by using a phone, the car can be instructed to come to the user, Nie said. 

Vertical integration crucial
The vertical integration strategy that the company employs is a key driver of its business success, allowing it to distribute a wide range of the devices it builds, he explained. 
Cutting-edge technology with big data, more efficiency in terms of battery savings, and ease of connection with the Internet are all incorporated, he added. 
This has enabled LeEco, originally an online video company, to amass a library of more than 5,000 movies and 100,000 TV episodes, and attract more than 50 million daily active users and more than 730 million monthly active users of its services since its inception, said Richard Ren, president of LeEco North America. 
With a wide range of screen sizes, LeEco’s TVs are one of China’s leading smart-TV brands, selling more than 7 million units over the past three years. 
According to a recently released report by Sino Market Research, LeEco’s superphones recorded 1.42 million unit sales, or 14.8 per cent of the evidence-based practice market in China, ranking it third in the online mobile-phone sales. 
The figure was closely gaining on market leaders Xiaomi and Honor, and beat out rivals Huawei, Apple, Meizu, Samsung, OPPO and Vivo.  
Founded in November 2004 by Jia Yueting and Liu Hong, LeEco now employs more than 10,000 people. 
Headquartered in Beijing, it now has a market capitalisation of US$15 billion (Bt525 billion). 
The company has regional headquarters in Hong Kong, as well as in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley in the US.