Chip Dearth Forces Tesla's Chinese Rival to Deliver Radar-Less EV

BEIJING, October 7(TMTPOST)— Chinese electric vehicle(EV) marker Li Auto offered a special delivery solution to subscribers who are set to pick their cars up in October and November, citing the severe chip dearth resulted from the ongoing force majeure features, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

According to the solution, Li Auto can first provide a preliminary version of its only EV model Li ONE with one front millimeter-wave radar and two rear millimeter-wave radars on the planned schedule, and the remained two radars will be installed from December to the Chinese New Year holiday starting from February 1. Alternatively, buyers can choose to delay the delivery to December.

Comparing with the normal model with full ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) features, the the preliminary version EV can’t work features that automatically changes lanes and alerts vehicles' acrossing ahead. Besides, the NOA navigation assistance doesn’t support over-the-air (OTA) software updates until a total of five radars installed.

As compensation, subscriber who accepts the preliminary version will receive lifetime quality assurance and 10,000 customer loyalty points that can be redeemed for merchandise or services in Li’s online store.

The solution was circulated online by Chinese media outlets on Thursday but hasn’t released on the company’s website yet. This is the latest evidence to show how the high-profile Tesla’s Chinese rival was affected by the prolonged global chip shortage due to the pandemic.

Last month, Li announced to cut delivery outlook of the third quarter to about 24,500 units, down from the previous outlook of 25,000 and 26,000 units, and explained that the chip production in Malaysia dedicated for the millimeter-wave radar supplier has been seriously hampered. Earlier this month, it disclosed the monthly delivery of 7,094 Li ONEs in September, decreasing about 24.8% from August, when the company for the first time delivered more than 9,000 units in a month. “Deliveries of Li ONEs in September moderated compared with the prior month due to the prolonged chip supply shortage,” the co-founder and president Yanan Shen noted in the statement of the recent monthly delivery.

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