Tomorrow's cars will be all-electric, self-driving, connected to high-speed communications networks ... and free.
And probably Chinese.
That, at least, is the vision of Jia Yueting, a billionaire entrepreneur and one of a new breed of Chinese who see their technology expertise re-engineering the automobile industry, and usurping Tesla Motors, a US pioneer in premium electric vehicle (EV) making.
"Tesla's a great company and has taken the global car industry to the EV era," Jia said in an interview at the Beijing headquarters of his Le Holdings Co, or LeEco.
"But we're not just building a car. We consider the car a smart mobile device on four wheels, essentially no different to a cellphone or tablet.
"We hope to surpass Tesla and lead the industry leapfrogging to a new age," said Jia.
A wave of EV start-ups has emerged in China after the government opened up the auto industry to deep-pocketed technology firms to drive a switch to cleaner electric as an eventual alternative to gasoline cars. Sceptics wonder just how start-ups like LeEco will deliver on their grand visions.
As a sign of intent, 43-year-old Jia last week unveiled the LeSEE electric concept supercar, a rival to Tesla's Model S.
The "smart, connected and self-driving" car will be displayed at this week's Beijing autoshow.
"People questioned our idea, a small IT company building a car to compete with the BMWs and Teslas of the world, and laughed at us. It wasn't easy, but here we are," Jia told Reuters.
LeEco hopes to start producing a version of the LeSEE in a few years at a plant being built near Las Vegas by US strategic partner Faraday Future, in which Jia has invested.
Those cars would be sold in the United States and China. Further ahead, the plan is to produce electric cars in China, too, probably through a partnership with BAIC Motor.
The web-connected electric cars will have a "disruptive" pricing model similar to phones and TV sets LeEco markets in China, Jia says. His company, often called China's Netflix, will sell movies, TV shows, music and other content and services to drivers of its cars. That's why he says "one day our cars will be free." Nearer-term, the disruption is more likely to be "double the performance at half the price."
