(Yicai) May 14 -- The recent rear-end collision involving a Li Auto electric vehicle resulted from an error made by the car’s smart driving system, according to the latest findings of an investigation into the accident by the Chinese automaker.

The Li Auto L9 Pro’s intelligent driving system mistook the image of a truck on a roadside billboard for a real truck parked ahead, causing it to brake, Beijing-based Li Auto said. 

The vehicle’s owner claimed on social media that the driver assistance system led the car to brake abruptly on a highway in Hubei province. As the driver behind did not have time to swerve, the two vehicles ended up in a rear-end shunt. A traffic police investigation determined that the L9 Pro’s owner bore full responsibility.

This was not the first time that an error made by the smart driving system of a Li Auto vehicle had resulted in an accident. In May last year, an L7 also performed an emergency brake when it misconstrued the image of a runner on another billboard as a real person.

The EVs of other carmakers such as Xpeng Motors, Nio, Huawei-backed Aito, and Tesla have also been involved in similar accidents because of limitations in their driver assistance systems. 

Mainstream driving assistance systems use cameras and millimeter-wave radars for sensing, an expert told Yicai. Cameras have low precision in terms of perception, while millimeter-wave radars are very precise when it comes to recognising things but are less sensitive to static objects, so such systems are not flawless despite rapid advances, the person noted.

“When carmakers promote their intelligent driving systems, they tend to emphasize their capabilities, leading some users to trust the systems too much,” he said. “The companies actually should inform drivers about the limitations of these systems and the potential risks.”

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione