Zhiji's "steering wheel-less" test vehicle exposed.

Zhiji is preparing to make a car without a steering wheel run.

Recently, photos of a car's cockpit circulated online, showing no traditional steering wheel in front of the driver's seat, with a screen dominating the dashboard. Netizens quickly dubbed it the "Chinese version of Cybercab." On August 27th, Zhiji told Wall Street News that this steering wheel-less test vehicle would soon be "running" in the park.

This car achieves a steering wheel-less design primarily thanks to technologies such as the Zhiji fully steerable chassis. At last week's Chengdu Auto Show, Zhiji released its NEXT·2028 strategy, announcing that all future models will be equipped with a fully steerable intelligent chassis; following that, the all-new LS6 will be released in September.

According to Zhiji's product timeline, NEXT·2028 will bring forward the technologies of the next three years. The new generation LS6 will be equipped with the NEO three-electric architecture, a fully drive-by-wire intelligent chassis, and the IM Claw intelligent agent across the entire range, and will also possess the underlying control capabilities demonstrated by this test vehicle. The "Chinese version of Cybercab" is responsible for attracting attention, but Zhiji is really aiming to secure a mass-produced position in the 200,000 RMB-level fully drive-by-wire chassis market.

Before this car appeared, the policies and product schedules had already been laid out. On July 1, 2026, the "Basic Requirements for Automotive Steering Systems" (GB17675-2025) (hereinafter referred to as the "New National Standard") came into effect, providing clear safety requirements and test methods for steer-by-wire.

Removing the steering wheel requires first severing its mechanical connection to the wheels. Traditional steering systems directly drive the wheels via the steering column; steer-by-wire converts the driver's actions into electrical signals, which are then used by actuators to control the wheels. This allows the driver and the intelligent driving system to use the same electronic interface, and the size, position, and steering ratio of the steering wheel are no longer constrained by the mechanical structure.

With the mechanical connection eliminated, safety can no longer rely solely on the steering column. Zhiji's steer-by-wire parameters include a 20-millisecond response time, triple safety redundancy, and 10-Fit reliability. Triple redundancy is crucial for mass production: if a signal chain, power supply, or actuator fails, the backup system must still maintain vehicle steering. The steering wheel-less solution has already been installed in a real vehicle; subsequent dynamic testing in the industrial park will further verify actuator coordination and vehicle calibration.

Zhiji has also integrated IM AD ZETA into the Momenta world model. Zhiji claims that the model has 3 to 4 times the number of parameters of mainstream industry solutions, with a performance ceiling of 20 times, and supports the current L2 level assisted driving with L4 level model capabilities. The model is responsible for understanding the road and making judgments, while the fully steerable chassis is responsible for translating those judgments into wheel movements, thus extending the intelligent driving decision chain to the vehicle execution layer.

Momenta's world model is not exclusive to Momenta, and model parameters are unlikely to constitute a long-term monopoly for any automaker. Momenta's competitive advantage lies outside the model itself: after the algorithm issues commands, steering speed, execution accuracy, fault backup, and chassis coordination must all be handled by the entire vehicle. This part demands more from the automaker's overall vehicle engineering and safety calibration capabilities, and it's where SAIC's accumulated expertise can be utilized.

Tesla's Cybercab, starting with Robotaxi, is designed from the outset to eliminate the need for a steering wheel and pedals. NIO was the first to mass-produce steer-by-wire in its ET9, starting at 788,000 yuan, making it part of its flagship chassis. Zhiji, on the other hand, is taking a lower-price strategy: showcasing its technological limits with a steering wheel-less test vehicle, and then integrating its fully steer-by-wire chassis into the new 200,000 yuan LS6.

While steer-by-wire is suitable for a limited number of flagship vehicles, allowing for higher hardware and validation costs, its application in mainstream family SUVs necessitates simultaneously addressing supply chain costs, manufacturing consistency, and large-scale calibration. Upon the LS6's launch, users will initially experience reduced steering wheel turns during low-speed U-turns and parking, enhanced high-speed steering stability, and less transmission of road impacts to the driver's hands. Subsequent intelligent driving upgrades can utilize existing steering interfaces without requiring chassis modifications.

The dynamic testing in the park will turn this cockpit photo into a full vehicle demonstration, and the new generation LS6 will bring the same capabilities to the 200,000 yuan market. The competition in intelligent driving has thus moved from algorithms all the way to chassis control and mass production costs.

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