In June 2025, Li Auto established two new sub-departments: Spatial Robotics and Wearable Robotics. Li Auto has posted several humanoid robot R&D positions on its official recruitment page, restarting its embodied robotics development. According to the job descriptions, this recruitment covers the full process from core components to system integration for humanoid robots: Dexterous Hand: Embedded Software Engineer, Algorithm R&D Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer Joint Module: Embedded Software Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer Bipedal System: Algorithm R&D Engineer Sensors: Embedded Software Engineer Interactive Perception: Embedded Hardware Engineer Whole-Body Motion Control: Algorithm R&D Engineer Ontology Platform Software Engineer Integration, Deployment and Testing Engineer Li Auto Careers Page Li Auto’s layout in the broader robotics field actually began long ago. As early as January 2024, Liao Pingping, who holds a master’s degree from Beihang University and ten years of robotics R&D experience, joined Li Auto as a robotics algorithm expert, leading the development of wheeled dual-arm humanoid robots for scenarios such as “screw tightening” in automotive manufacturing plants. However, due to factors such as technology development bottlenecks and an immature humanoid robot supply chain, the project was forced to pause. Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, clearly stated at the end of 2024 that “The probability of Li Auto building humanoid robots is 100%, but the right timing has not yet arrived.” In June 2025, Li Auto established two new secondary departments—”Spatial Robotics” and “Wearable Robotics”—under the Product Division led by Senior Vice President Fan Haoyu. Its first smart glasses product, Livis, was officially launched on December 3, 2025, with prices starting at 1,999 RMB. Li Auto Livis Smart Glasses Based on recruitment requirements, Li Auto’s robotics R&D plan appears similar to companies like Tesla and XPeng that pursue extremely biomimetic humanoid robots. Industry experts analyze that if Li Auto starts from scratch, it would need to build a team of approximately 200 people and invest two years of effort to potentially approach the level demonstrated by XPeng’s AI robot IRON when it was publicly unveiled in November 2025. Additionally, the CEO of a robotics listed company believes that, apart from BYD, most domestic automakers typically have an annual budget of only 500 million RMB for continuous investment in emerging businesses, which is insufficient to maintain a leading position in the robotics field. XPeng’s New-Gen Humanoid Robot IRON Li Auto is not the only automaker entering the robotics field. Besides Tesla’s Optimus and XPeng’s AI robot IRON, which have long been established in the robotics track, Seres’ humanoid robot R&D team has also exceeded 200 members. At the same time, Li Auto must also compete for talent with startups. In the second half of 2025, several core executives, including Jia Peng—former head of Li Auto’s autonomous driving technology R&D—co-founded Zhi Jian Dynamics, an embodied intelligence company. Despite facing numerous challenges, the capital market still gave positive feedback to Li Auto’s robotics restart. On January 22, as soon as the news broke, Li Auto’s US stocks opened up approximately 7%.