Chinese automakers rush to deploy steer-by-wire chassis, entry price drops to 200,000 yuan

"Wire-controlled chassis is the best physical foundation and technological base for L3 and L4 autonomous driving," said Xiang Jiao, CTO of IM Motors, during a media briefing for the launch of the new-generation IM LS6. He noted that 2025 marks the first year of mass adoption of wire-controlled chassis.

This assessment is being validated by both regulatory and market developments.

Regulatory Progress

The national standard Basic Requirements for Automotive Steering Systems (GB 17675—2025), implemented on July 1, 2026, has removed the mandatory requirement for "mechanical connections to be retained." This clears regulatory barriers for the production of wire-controlled steering systems without mechanical backups. The standard was drafted with participation from major domestic automakers, including NIO, Li Auto, XPeng, and BYD.

Market Adoption

Wire-controlled chassis systems are now being deployed in production vehicles at an accelerating pace:

• IM LS6 (launched September 23): Full wire-controlled chassis as standard equipment, with a preferential price starting at RMB 197,900 and a guide price starting at RMB 202,900.
• Li Auto i9 (launched September 16, priced at RMB 369,800): Standard wire-controlled steering (a core subsystem of wire-controlled chassis) and rear-wheel steering.
• XPeng GX Ultra (pre-sale price RMB 399,800): Native wire-controlled chassis as standard.
• NIO ET9 (delivered in Q1 2025): The first mass-produced and delivered vehicle in China with full wire-controlled steering.

Cost Challenges

The primary barrier to widespread adoption is cost. In mid-September, Li Auto CEO Li Xiang stated that wire-controlled steering and rear-wheel steering "are rare in 400,000-level pure electric SUVs because the cost is indeed high." Xiang Jiao also acknowledged during a group media interview that wire-controlled chassis "offers a great experience but remains an expensive product."

IM Motors' ability to bring wire-controlled chassis to the 200,000-level price point is attributed to SAIC's in-house R&D, which allows all components and development to be "white-box" — eliminating the costs associated with traditional "black-box" systems — and leveraging SAIC's supply chain to control costs.

Cost Reduction Roadmap

According to the Electric Vehicle Intelligent Chassis Technology Roadmap published by the China Society of Automotive Engineers:

• 2025 target: Wire-controlled steering cost below RMB 4,000, supporting L3+ autonomous driving requirements.
• 2030 target: Cost reduced to RMB 2,500–3,000, with penetration rate reaching 30%, supporting L4+ autonomous driving deployment.

Industry Outlook

With costs continuing to decline, multiple securities firms anticipate a window of opportunity for the wire-controlled chassis industry:

• Guotai Haitong Securities, in its report Industry Deep Dive: Eight Major Outlooks for the 2026 Autonomous Driving Era, lists intelligent chassis as one of the eight key outlooks, calling it "the final piece of the puzzle for high-level intelligent driving." It estimates China's intelligent chassis market will reach RMB 107.86 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 24.5% from 2024 to 2030. Within this, wire-controlled steering is projected at RMB 22.91 billion, with penetration rising from 5% to 30%.
• Huajin Securities stated in March 2025 that "wire-controlled chassis has entered a critical phase of industrialization."

Safety Concerns Addressed

Despite market concerns about safety after the removal of mechanical connections, Pei Yichen, Technical Director of IM Motors' Vehicle Motion Control Department, responded: "With reasonable and precise safety redundancy design, wire-controlled steering systems can actually be safer and more reliable than mechanical steering systems." He drew an analogy: wire-controlled systems were first applied to commercial aircraft 40 years ago, leading to a significant reduction in accident rates.