Chinese automakers rush to adopt line-control 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 this year marks the beginning of mass adoption of wire-controlled chassis.

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

Regulatory Breakthrough

China's national standard Basic Requirements for Automotive Steering Systems (GB 17675—2025), which took effect on July 1, 2026, has removed the mandatory requirement for "mechanical connections to be retained." This clears the regulatory path for production approval 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 Accelerates

Wire-controlled chassis systems are now being deployed across multiple vehicle models:

• IM LS6 (launched September 23): Full wire-controlled chassis as standard equipment, with a starting price of ¥197,900 (special offer) and ¥202,900 (MSRP)
• Li Auto i9 (launched September 16, ¥369,800): Standard wire-controlled steering (a core component of wire-controlled chassis) and rear-wheel steering
• XPeng GX Ultra (pre-sale ¥399,800): Native wire-controlled chassis as standard
• NIO ET9 (delivery starting Q1 2025): First mass-produced vehicle in China to feature full wire-controlled steering

Cost Challenges and Solutions

The primary barrier to widespread adoption is cost. In mid-September, Li Auto CEO Li Xiang noted 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 acknowledged that wire-controlled chassis "offers a great experience but remains an expensive product." IM Motors' ability to bring it 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" approaches — and leveraging SAIC's supply chain to control costs.

Cost Reduction Roadmap

According to the Technical Roadmap for Electric Vehicle Intelligent Chassis by the China Society of Automotive Engineers:

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

Industry Outlook

With costs declining, multiple brokerages see a window of opportunity for the wire-controlled chassis industry:

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

Safety Concerns Addressed

Despite progress, market concerns persist regarding safety after the removal of mechanical connections. In response, Pei Yichen, Technical Director of IM Motors' Vehicle Motion Control Department, stated: "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.