Today marked LeEco’s entrance to the US electronics market and while the announcements were largely focused on the company’s smartphones, TVs, and new streaming service, the company did also unveil its upcoming autonomous electric vehicle which the company has named the LeSee Pro.
Now, although the car’s reveal was in fact delayed due to it being involved in a crash on the way to the venue from the set of the new Transformers movie (where it was being used), LeEco did release a few details about the vehicle. Firstly, LeEco’s CEO, Jia Yueting, revealed the reason for building the car was to improve China’s current smog situation which is currently among the worst in the world, noting that the company feels a “strong desire to bring back” the country’s blue skies. Back to the LeSee Pro and the company has confirmed that it will be compatible with nearly all products in its ecosystem, including TVs, smartphones or even VR headsets. Regarding what special features the car includes, LeEco has equipped it with an external display that switches color depending on what it’s signaling and can warn pedestrians if the car is in self-driving mode, if it’s available for car sharing, if it sees a hazard or even if it’s charging. As well as this, the car’s steering wheel hides itself under the dashboard if the car is set to autonomous mode.
One detail the company did not want to unveil, though, was basically anything related to the sales of the car. LeEco’s CEO refused to reveal the total production cost of the car, along with any kind of time-frame regarding the eventual release of the vehicle. One thing the company was willing to comment on though, was what lays ahead for the Californian electric car startup Faraday Futures, which the company is currently funding. LeEco confirmed that Faraday’s first vehicle would be revealed at CES 2017 in January. It’ll be interesting to see how LeEco fares once they eventually enter the automotive market, but it’s clear that with the growing importance of autonomous tech in the industry, the company is sure to face tough competition from industry leaders, as well as their own Faraday Futures and possibly even Apple, if the rumors surrounding their self-driving car turn out to be true.