LeEco Debuts Self-Driving EV, Increases Ties to Faraday Future
Will build driving research center in Silicon Valley
LeEco, the Chinese technology company linked to Faraday Future, has unveiled an autonomous EV concept.
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The LeSEE concept "features groundbreaking, fully autonomous capabilities," the company said at the car's reveal in Beijing this week. The vehicle is said to include facial, emotion, system, and path recognition software. When looking at the car's grille and side profile, it looks a bit like a Tesla Model S.
LeEco also announced it will work with Faraday Future to fund a driving research center in Silicon Valley. At this time, we don't know much more than that, but the company promises to reveal more details at the Beijing auto show later this month.
We already knew there would be some type of partnership between Faraday Future and LeEco, formerly known as Letv. This plan was announced at the unveiling of Faraday Future's first concept car, although the companies wouldn't specify how the arrangement would work at the time. Both LeEco and Faraday Future were founded by billionaire Jia Yueting.
LeEco is a multi-faceted business, specializing in smartphones and video streaming technology as well as automobiles. The company has also partnered with Aston Martin to develop an all-electric RapidE to go on sale by 2018. It's unclear when LeEco plans to bring its own autonomous car to market.
Check out a video of LeEco's autonomous EV concept here.
Source: LeEco via Facebook
When I tell people I write about cars, the most common reply I receive is “Really?” I guess I never strike people as a car type as I drive down the freeway in the right lane going 60 mph in my old SUV. My gripes about driving in city traffic and fast drivers don’t help my case, either. For a time, the only cars I liked were old cars. Not old as in "classic" or "vintage," but as in well-worn. My first appreciation of cars came when I drove a very old Ford pickup. It wasn't perfect: I used a booster seat to reach the gas pedal, and the turn signal once fell off in my hand as I was learning to drive. But the thing I valued most was the memories. It took several years for me to truly become a "car person." Being a long-time writer and an avid reader has helped me develop a healthy curiosity and a desire to know how things work. This has made cars one of the most fascinating points of study for me because they are such intricate machines. I am interested in how cars can reach 200 mph, how they can run on hydrogen, and how they can drive and park on their own. I also enjoy learning how cars can solve problems whether it be in the form of reducing pollution, minimizing traffic, or helping people stay connected on the road. Yes, maybe I’m not a gearhead. Perhaps I’m a car nerd. Either way, I very much enjoy writing about cars and helping people stay in tune with the automotive industry. I wouldn't want to be writing about anything else. And don’t get me wrong: I know how to drool over a hot car. I am fascinated by the Tesla Model S, awed by the Lamborghini Veneno, and am hopelessly obsessed with the Audi R8.
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