Liu Liguo, Leiter der Fahrzeugentwicklung von Li Auto: Es ist ein großer Irrtum, zu sagen, dass Li Auto der Technologie keine Beachtung schenkt.
Liu Liguo, Senior Vice President of Ideal Auto's R & D for Vehicle Electrification
Text | Xiao Man
Editor | Li Qin
After a decade of car - building, the new - force automakers have generally evolved from being "light - footed" to "substantial". In particular, Ideal Auto has declared its ambition to become an "embodied intelligence enterprise", while also enhancing its capabilities in every aspect of vehicle technology.
Especially in the past four years, Ideal Auto has almost completely re - engineered its chassis system. In collaboration with suppliers, it has co - developed three major chassis components: EMB brakes, 800V active suspension, and steer - by - wire.
Ideal Auto is also making in - house arrangements for battery production. Meanwhile, in the field of range - extender technology where it started, Ideal has reached the stage of self - research and self - production. Its latest - generation range - extender, i.e., the engine, is now "self - produced" by Ideal Auto.
The above - mentioned technological achievements will be mainly reflected in the latest flagship model, the Ideal L9 Livis. This means that the new - generation Ideal L9 will also mark the starting point of Ideal's new - generation technological capabilities.
"From the very first day of the project, we set the goal that the suspension and chassis technology of the new - generation L9 must be the best in the industry," said Li Xiang when the Ideal L9 Livis was first unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show. During the 20 - minute presentation, he spent half of the time introducing the chassis and suspension systems.
Not long ago, 36Kr interviewed Liu Liguo, the person in charge of Ideal Auto's R & D for vehicle electrification. He summarized for 36Kr the thinking behind Ideal's series of chassis technology layouts: the inter - generational leadership in user experience, the "cerebellum" requirements under the evolution of intelligent technology, and even considerations for supply - chain security.
He also responded to 36Kr, "Sometimes the outside world mistakenly believes that Ideal Auto doesn't value technology. This is a big misunderstanding. In fact, the opposite is true."
Automobile manufacturers have established interactive senses through intelligent cockpits, trained a "smart brain" through advanced intelligent driving, and used high - energy - density power batteries as a powerful "heart". However, the evolution of "perception" and "decision - making" must ultimately be implemented in the "execution" in the physical world.
"Without a cerebellum, no matter how smart the brain is, one can't stand steadily," said Liu Liguo, Senior Vice President of Ideal Auto's R & D for vehicle electrification. The chassis domain, which plays the role of the "cerebellum" for the vehicle's motion coordination, is the last piece of the puzzle for a car to become an "embodied intelligent entity".
Ideal believes that to fully integrate the full - stack capabilities of the chassis domain, it is necessary to thoroughly master the R & D of active suspension, steer - by - wire, and brake - by - wire. "Only when the three systems work together can there be a generational difference in experience," said Liu Liguo.
In the second half of 2021, Ideal Auto simultaneously launched R & D projects for the 800V active suspension and the complete steer - by - wire chassis. Among them, the most original and groundbreaking technology, which Ideal Auto was the first to explore in uncharted territory, is EMB (Electro - Mechanical Brake). At that time, the industrial chain was not mature. This technology was only in the concept - verification and PPT stages in the industry, and there had never been any mass - production precedents, not even relevant regulations.
As the core technology for the next - generation chassis, EMB completely abandons the hydraulic braking system that the automotive industry has used for a century. It eliminates brake fluid, hydraulic pumps, and complex pipelines, and directly uses independent motors at the four wheel ends to drive the caliper brakes.
Finally, after four years, Ideal Auto has achieved three technological results: 800V active suspension, steer - by - wire, and brake - by - wire.
On the hardware level, Ideal Auto collaborated with suppliers for joint R & D; on the software level, Ideal's engineers conducted independent R & D.
"Many automakers have also purchased steer - by - wire and brake - by - wire systems. However, when the system software of the chassis comes from black - box solutions of different suppliers and the codes are not compatible, it is impossible to achieve unified scheduling. It's like having a group of people speaking different languages working together. Each individual is excellent, but they can't form a cohesive force," said Liu Liguo.
To provide sufficient computing resources for the chassis algorithms, Ideal Auto designed a dedicated area for vehicle control in the Maher M100 chip and reserved 100 - 200 TOPS of computing power, enabling the vehicle's "cerebellum" to keep up with the computing power of the intelligent - driving "brain".
Ideal Auto's success in the past few years has largely been attributed by the outside world to "the victory of product definition" (precise family positioning, features like refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas). However, when these visible configurations have been copied at a pixel - level across the industry and Ideal's sales have been under significant pressure in the past two years, Ideal must prove to the outside world and itself that it has an underlying hard - core technological moat that is difficult to be easily breached.
36Kr Auto had an exclusive dialogue with Liu Liguo, Senior Vice President of Ideal Auto's R & D for vehicle electrification, in an attempt to present Ideal Auto's technological judgments and business thinking. The following is the edited transcript of the dialogue:
Launching a single system alone doesn't make much sense. The synergy of multiple systems is where 1 + 1+ 1 > 3
36Kr Auto: The biggest technological breakthrough of Ideal Auto in the chassis this time is EMB. When did you decide to pursue this direction?
Liu Liguo: On the eve of the launch of the L - series models in 2022, when the previous - generation technology entered the mass - production stage, we began to prepare for the next - generation technology. We predicted that the next breakthrough direction would be the full electrification and intelligence of the chassis.
Only by achieving chassis electrification first can there be more possibilities for intelligence. In the past, the electromechanical integration system was extremely complex, the rule - based control was very cumbersome, and each system was developed independently. It was extremely difficult to integrate them into a whole. We believe that chassis electrification is the inevitable future direction, so we began to gradually reserve relevant technologies in the three directions of steering, braking, and suspension.
36Kr Auto: Did Li Xiang put forward any requirements during the R & D of this generation of chassis?
Liu Liguo: Li Xiang's biggest requirement for the next - generation flagship model is to have a completely different driving experience and create a technological generational difference. This is his most important requirement. He participates in every aspect, from requirements definition to human - interaction design and final acceptance. He often test - drives the cars, usually once every two or three weeks.
36Kr Auto: Some other automakers have already launched active suspension and steer - by - wire. Didn't Ideal Auto consider implementing some technologies in facelifted models first?
Liu Liguo: To evaluate the driving experience, we need to assess the entire chassis domain, including the 800V active suspension and the complete steer - by - wire chassis, as a whole, rather than looking at individual points. The value of each individual system is limited. For example, looking at steer - by - wire alone, it only achieves a variable steering ratio, which is not significant enough. However, when combined with the active suspension and rear - wheel steering, its value is magnified, and steering becomes easier.
When the three systems work together, the overall experience is greater than the sum of their individual parts (1 + 1+ 1 > 3). Only by integrating these elements can we create a technological and experiential generational difference, and this is a complete steer - by - wire chassis with the potential for embodied intelligence.
36Kr Auto: Did you explore other routes before developing EMB?
Liu Liguo: Around 2022, the mainstream view in the industry was that the mass - production window for EMB would be between 2028 and 2030, or even later. There were no relevant regulations at all (the regulations for brake - by - wire came into effect on January 1, 2026), and no one could tell whether this path would be successful.
At that time, there was a popular route in the industry called "wet front, dry rear" - retaining the Boost hydraulic braking for the front two wheels and using a dry - type solution for the rear two wheels. This route was relatively conservative. If there was a problem with the rear wheels, the front - wheel hydraulic system could still provide a backup. The industry once considered this to be the mainstream direction for the transitional stage.
36Kr Auto: Why didn't you choose this route and instead directly opted for EMB?
Liu Liguo: We also seriously discussed this route internally. However, after engineers used the first - principles approach, they found several fatal problems: the "wet front, dry rear" solution couldn't achieve the real advantages of EMB. The software platform couldn't be moved up from the wheel end, and the hardware and software couldn't be decoupled. Moreover, the electro - hydraulic hybrid control made the entire system more difficult to maintain.
36Kr Auto: The steer - by - wire chassis has been very popular in recent years, but users' perception of it is not very obvious. What do you think is the real value of EMB?
Liu Liguo: The real value of EMB lies in independent four - wheel control and the complete transfer of software - related functions. Only the execution part is left at the wheel end, while all decision - making and coordination algorithms are moved up. The "wet front, dry rear" solution can't achieve either of these. It's like paying the development cost of EMB but only getting less than half of the benefits.
In terms of safety, EMB is safer than the previous EHB. Under the same tire and road - surface adhesion conditions, the braking distance of EMB is more than 2 meters shorter than that of EHB. The ABS (Anti - lock Braking System) can be adjusted more precisely, and the utilization of adhesion is higher. At the same time, the control loop of AD is very short, resulting in a better driving experience.
So, we finally decided to go for the full - dry EMB. After we completed the A - sample, other manufacturers in the industry also noticed the trend and started to follow suit one after another. It's worth mentioning that many global leading suppliers, after learning about the success of our EMB, actively approached us for cooperation.
36Kr Auto: Are there any test indicators? What are the evaluation criteria for failures?
Liu Liguo: There are clear regulations for EMB. When the deceleration of a fully - loaded vehicle is assumed to be 1G, an alarm should be issued when it drops below 0.65G, and there should be a corresponding early - warning mechanism. We need to know what has failed and have corresponding solutions. All uncontrolled situations should not result in a deceleration lower than 0.25G, and these are clearly defined in the regulations.
Since we implemented it, there has not been a single case where the deceleration dropped below 0.65G.
36Kr Auto: What does 0.65G mean?
Liu Liguo: Usually, when people drive, the normal deceleration is around 0.2 or 0.3G. Many people can only reach around 0.6G during emergency braking. Unless one is trained or steps on the brake all the way down, the deceleration can reach about 1G.
36Kr Auto: The main supplier of EMB this time is Bethel. Didn't you consider cooperating with some international suppliers? At least in terms of consensus, large - scale manufacturers have more comprehensive systems.
Liu Liguo: International giants like Bosch and ZF have been deeply involved in the EHB field for decades. Relying on their global platform - scale operations, they have mature technologies and extremely low costs, and have achieved stable commercial returns in the existing market. However, their investment pace in the new EMB route does not fully match our R & D requirements. This is not a matter of ability but a difference in commercial driving forces.
The processes of large - scale manufacturers are relatively complex. They may cooperate with you in development, but the sense of urgency, progress, and investment level will not be in line with your rhythm. This is also the reason why we decided to conduct independent R & D. Moreover, China was the first in the world to issue EMB regulations, aiming to achieve self - control of components in this field and "overtake on a new track". So, we chose Bethel to jointly develop EMB.
36Kr Auto: There has been a lot of discussion recently about the 48V active suspension and 800V active suspension routes. What's Ideal Auto's view? Why did you choose to develop the 800V active suspension? What's the thinking behind it?
Liu Liguo: The 48V system was first promoted in Europe and the United States and was designed for traditional fuel - powered vehicles. It is relatively simple but cannot use high - voltage power.
During the early development process, suppliers initially recommended the 48V system. However, we found that the 48V system can provide relatively low power. To achieve high - power output, a large current is required, and the wiring harness needs to be very thick to handle it.
From the demand side, what is the core goal of an active suspension? It is to enable the four wheels to respond independently to the road surface and driving dynamics without compromising each other. The prerequisite for this is to have sufficient active power. Only when you can apply enough force to each wheel actively can you control it and achieve decoupling.
The power of the 48V system has an upper limit, and the active force it can provide is about 7000N. For an SUV, this force is not enough. When cornering at high speed, the roll moment is large, and 6000N is insufficient. Therefore, a lateral stabilizer bar needs to be retained for assistance. With the stabilizer bar in place, the left and right wheels are connected. When one wheel moves, the other will also be affected, and "independent four - wheel control" cannot be achieved.
We also studied several routes on the market at that time, including linear motors, ball screws, and 48V hydraulic pumps. We disassembled and analyzed each of them. Each route has its own logic and limitations. Finally, we chose the 800V hydraulic pump. Essentially, it's not because it's the "most advanced" but because it's the only solution that can truly achieve our goals. The 800V solution can provide an active force of over 10,000N, which can meet our requirements for various user scenarios such as single - wheel lifting.
36Kr Auto: What kind of verification did you conduct when the new technology was first installed in the vehicle?
Liu Liguo: Ideal Auto's dedicated road tests for the steer - by - wire chassis have accumulated a total mileage of over 4 million kilometers, covering various climates and working conditions in 23 provinces and municipalities across the country. In various extreme scenarios and simulated tests where signals were artificially disconnected, there were no cases of complete failure. The EMB system's functional safety has obtained the DAkkS ASIL D certification, the highest international standard. The measured braking distance is 33 meters, comprehensively surpassing the traditional hydraulic braking system. National regulations are the minimum standard, and our standards far exceed them.
The "cerebellum" of embodied intelligence: software is more difficult to develop than hardware
36Kr Auto: Ideal Auto calls the L9 Livis an "embodied - intelligence flagship SUV". Which part of the embodiment does the chassis domain undertake?
Liu Liguo: The overall coordination and kinematic control of the vehicle are equivalent to the cerebellum; the full - function AD is equivalent to the brain.
The core requirement of embodied intelligence for the chassis is that each joint can truly receive independent commands, that is, the four wheels can be completely decoupled in the X, Y, and Z directions.
The suspension has achieved complete decoupling of the four wheels in the Z direction.