Li Auto will hold its Livis Day event on June 15 at 4:30 pm Beijing time, where the automaker plans to detail its embodied intelligence strategy and AI roadmap — a major strategic pivot for a company that until recently defined itself primarily as an extended-range EV manufacturer. The event follows a May 2026 organizational restructure that created three new embodied-intelligence departments and a secret robotics project codenamed Nexus.
The timing is significant. Li Auto reported an unexpected Q1 2026 net loss of 2.3 billion yuan (about $339 million) with gross margins falling to 7.9% from 20.5% a year earlier. May deliveries dropped 18% year-over-year to 33,350 units as the company navigates a model transition cycle. Livis Day appears designed to reset the narrative from short-term headwinds toward a long-term AI-driven vision.
Organizational Restructure
In late May, Li Auto restructured its autonomous driving and AI operations into three new second-level departments: Embodied Engineering, Embodied Interaction, and Embodied Behavior. The autonomous driving business was split into an independent second-level unit. This reorganization mirrors the approach taken by Tesla and BYD, which confirmed humanoid robot development in early June, signaling that major Chinese automakers increasingly view robotics and AI as core competencies rather than adjacent experiments.
Nexus Robot Project
Li Auto’s secret Nexus robot project targets a 2026 second-half debut of a two-wheeled robot for factory manufacturing environments, per CnEVPost reporting. The strategy is to iterate in controlled industrial settings before developing general-purpose humanoid robots. The L9 Livis, Li Auto’s flagship SUV launched earlier this year at a starting price of 509,800 yuan (about $75,150), already features two self-developed Mach M100 5nm automotive-grade chips delivering 1,280 TOPS each, plus a steer-by-wire chassis with active suspension — hardware that provides a development platform for the embodied intelligence software stack Li Auto plans to unveil at Livis Day.
Li Auto’s AI Livis smart glasses, weighing 36 grams at 1,999 yuan, received a major OTA update last month, suggesting the company is building a multi-device AI ecosystem spanning vehicles, wearables, and eventually robots.
Market Position
Li Auto’s pivot comes as competition in China’s premium EV segment intensifies. NIO’s ES9 recently launched with 25,000-plus non-cancellable orders and an average transaction price exceeding 450,000 yuan (about $66,330), surpassing traditional luxury brands per NIO executives. HIMA’s AITO brand delivered 46,122 units in May, up 41% month-over-month. Li Auto’s Q1 earnings miss highlighted the cost of this competitive pressure, and Livis Day represents an opportunity to articulate a differentiated technology narrative that investors and consumers can rally behind.
