Chinese electronics giant LeEco is backing U.S. electric car startup Faraday Future, but it also has an electric car project of its own going on. It’s a self-driving luxury sedan set to debut next week at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show.
LeEco (formerly LeTV) calls it the LeSee, short for Le Super Electric Ecosystem. It was shown briefly at a press conference for LeEco’s electronics line this week, where founder Jia Yueting summoned it on stage by talking into his phone. That’s not unlike the “Summon” feature available on the Tesla Model S, a car the LeSee seems to target.
The concept appears to be based on the Le Supercar announced by LeEco/LeTV last year. That car was only shown in sketches, but was described by its maker as a Tesla rival. Hopefully, LeEco will further explain the LeSee’s identity and features in more detail at the car’s auto-show debut next week. Besides the autonomous-driving capability and electric powertrain, there are no other real details available right now.
LeEco’s Jia believes electric cars are a logical extension of his company’s business because they can provide another platform for the streaming services that earned LeEco the nickname “China’s Netflix.” After all, if autonomous cars ever take off like many people believe they will, commuters will suddenly have more free time on their hands to watch movies and TV shows.
In addition to backing Faraday Future and designing its own concept car, LeEco is also partnering with Aston Martin on development of the British firm’s RapidE electric car. This is an all-electric version of the Rapide sedan that Aston CEO Andy Palmer has said will boast 1,000 horsepower. The partnership will allow LeEco to absorb some of Aston’s automotive experience, while the carmaker will get help developing infotainment and other electronics systems.
Meanwhile, Faraday Future broke ground on its $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this month. The company has said it will begin production within two years, but also notes that there is no set opening date for the factory. Nevada lawmakers put together an incentive package to attract Faraday, but are already concerned the company won’t be able to fulfill its promises.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.