Ledao L90 2026 Gets Flagship Shenji Chip

First 5nm flagship AD chip in $40k SUV—benchmark for affordable auto AI stacks
30-Second TL;DR
What Changed
2026 Ledao L90 equips full-spec Shenji NX9031, industry's first 5nm automotive high-tier AD chip.
Why It Matters
Elevates affordable EVs with top-tier AD compute, pressuring competitors to match AI hardware in mass-market segments. Signals NIO's push into AI-driven autonomy for family SUVs.
What To Do Next
Benchmark Shenji NX9031's 5nm ISP against Nvidia Orin for your ADAS perception pipeline.
Key Points
- •2026 Ledao L90 equips full-spec Shenji NX9031, industry's first 5nm automotive high-tier AD chip.
- •Chip ships over 200k units, optimized for NWM with 6.5B pixels/sec ISP.
- •First 300k RMB large SUV with global flagship AI chip; lidar and vision variants.
- •Post-lidar delivery: major update to vision version's end-to-end AD model for urban/highway NOA.
Deep Insight
AI-generated analysis for this event — not the original article.
Enhanced Key Takeaways
- •The Shenji NX9031 chip utilizes a proprietary architecture developed by NIO's in-house semiconductor division, specifically designed to handle the high-bandwidth requirements of the NWM (NIO World Model) without relying on third-party silicon like NVIDIA Orin-X.
- •The L90's aggressive pricing strategy under 300k RMB is enabled by NIO's 'BaaS' (Battery as a Service) model, which decouples battery ownership to lower the initial purchase price, a critical factor for the L90's market positioning against premium SUVs.
- •The transition to an end-to-end AD model for the vision-only version marks a strategic shift for the Ledao brand, aiming to achieve 'Lidar-like' performance through advanced neural network training on the NX9031's dedicated NPU cores.
Competitor Analysis
- Ledao L90 (2026)
- Shenji NX9031 (5nm)
- Li Auto L8
- NVIDIA Orin-X
- AITO M7 Ultra
- Huawei MDC 610
- Ledao L90 (2026)
- End-to-End NWM
- Li Auto L8
- Rule-based/Hybrid
- AITO M7 Ultra
- BEV + Transformer
- Ledao L90 (2026)
- < 300k RMB
- Li Auto L8
- 320k-400k RMB
- AITO M7 Ultra
- 280k-330k RMB
- Ledao L90 (2026)
- BaaS Support
- Li Auto L8
- Standard Purchase
- AITO M7 Ultra
- Standard Purchase
| Feature | Ledao L90 (2026) | Li Auto L8 | AITO M7 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD Chip | Shenji NX9031 (5nm) | NVIDIA Orin-X | Huawei MDC 610 |
| Architecture | End-to-End NWM | Rule-based/Hybrid | BEV + Transformer |
| Price Range | < 300k RMB | 320k-400k RMB | 280k-330k RMB |
| Battery Model | BaaS Support | Standard Purchase | Standard Purchase |
Technical Deep Dive
- Shenji NX9031 Architecture: Features a custom-designed NPU (Neural Processing Unit) optimized for transformer-based world models, supporting 6.5 billion pixels per second ISP throughput.
- NWM (NIO World Model): An end-to-end autonomous driving stack that integrates perception, prediction, and planning into a single neural network, reducing latency compared to modular architectures.
- Manufacturing Process: 5nm FinFET process node, providing a significant power-efficiency advantage over legacy 7nm automotive chips, allowing for higher sustained AI inference performance without thermal throttling.
Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources
Timeline
- 2024-05NIO officially launches the Ledao (ONVO) brand.
- 2024-09Ledao L60 begins customer deliveries, establishing the brand's market presence.
- 2025-12NIO announces the mass production of the Shenji NX9031 automotive AI chip.
- 2026-03Ledao L90 completes final winter testing and regulatory homologation.
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