(Source: Hesai Technology)

Li Auto recently signed an agreement with a Chinese LiDAR supplier to lay the groundwork for its new model to be released in 2022 with the component which is seen as key for autonomous driving.

The company entered into a partnership with Shanghai-based Hesai Technology on July 9, which will provide a hybrid solid-state LiDAR solution.

The two companies will collaborate on LiDAR system integration solutions for passenger vehicles, test and evaluation systems for LiDAR reliability and functional safety in complex weather and operating conditions, and highly automated manufacturing-based test systems, according to a statement.

Hesai has introduced several Pandar series LiDAR products in the past few years, including Pandar 40, Pandar 40P, Pandar 64, Pandar QT, and Pandar 128 for the unmanned field.

The company also offers Pandora, a multi-sensor fusion sensing suite, Pandar GT for advanced assisted driving, PandarMind for connected vehicle applications, and Pandar XT for the robotics market.

Hesai has also completed the development of the V1.0 chip-based LiDAR architecture, and its multi-channel driver chip and multi-channel analog front-end chip have been used in several projects.

LiDAR is a component that Chinese car companies are keen to use when building smart cars, and Xpeng Motors will carry the accessory in its P5 model to be delivered in September.

Late last month, a media report said that Li Auto will release a new big SUV codenamed X01 in 2022, with a full size upgrade compared to the Li ONE.

The new vehicle will drop the 1.2T three-cylinder engine from Harbin Dongan Auto Engine Co Ltd in favor of a 1.5T four-cylinder engine from Xinchen China Power, cheshi.com said, citing a leaked spec sheet.

In addition, the X01 will be equipped with two Journey 3 chips from local chip company Horizon Robotics, 128 lines of LiDAR, five millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic radars, allowing the model to expand to support L4 autonomous driving, according to the report.

Li Auto's new large SUV to be all-out upgrade to current model, leaked specs show