From "Mobile Home" to "Home of Life": The Story Behind Li Auto OTA 8.2 Pet Mode

In December 2025, Li Auto delivered 44,246 vehicles in a single month, with total deliveries surpassing 1.5 million units, making it China’s first emerging brand to reach this milestone.

Building on the massive data of 1.5 million vehicles, Li Auto is not only accelerating the deployment of its supercharging network and retail system but also completing a deeply meaningful iterative upgrade at the micro-experience level of its products.

In the latest OTA 8.2 version, Li Auto officially launched the “Pet Mode.” This feature is not only a precise response to the pain points of pet owners in their daily use but also reflects Li Auto’s continued pursuit of the concept of “family” after scaling—this “home” is not only about people but also about every family member.

Alleviating “Leaving-the-Car Anxiety”

In the context of smart vehicles, how is “usability” defined? Li Auto’s answer is: providing solutions that exceed expectations in specific high-frequency life scenarios.

The birth of “Pet Mode” stems from insights into the real difficulties faced by urban pet owners. When users encounter restrictions at shopping malls, hotels, or are unable to care for their pets during work, leaving pets in the car is often a helpless choice. In the past, this behavior carried significant safety risks and psychological anxiety. The core update from Li Auto this time is to use technological means to create an absolutely safe “leave-the-car space.”

According to official information, once activated, the vehicle immediately enters a special “care mode”: the air conditioning system continues to run to maintain a constant temperature, and the sunshade automatically closes to block out the sun; at the same time, physical buttons such as windows, door locks, screens, and pedals are forcibly disabled, fundamentally eliminating the risk of pets accidentally triggering controls that could lead to vehicle misoperation or loss of control.

Beyond physical environment optimization, “online” emotional connection is also a highlight.

Through deep integration of the vehicle system and the art frame function, users can generate wallpapers of their pets’ photos on the vehicle’s display, or even preserve images of deceased pets digitally inside the car, providing a unique sense of companionship. For models equipped with RGB cameras inside the cabin, such as the 2024 Li Auto L series and MEGA models, owners can remotely view real-time footage inside the vehicle via the Li Auto app.

This “view whenever you want” capability thoroughly solves the worry of owners feeling uneasy after locking and leaving the car, making every brief separation more reassuring.

Additionally, in extreme situations, when the vehicle’s battery drops below 10%, Pet Mode will automatically exit and slightly open four windows to ensure airflow. If the system detects excessively high or low temperatures inside the vehicle or critically low battery, it will promptly notify the owner via the Li Auto app or directly call.

In terms of convenience, users can activate Pet Mode with a single tap through the control center or vehicle settings, and voice commands are also supported: saying “Li Auto, turn on Pet Mode” will prepare the system for adjustments of temperature, display images, and remote control confirmation; for more direct commands—“Li Auto, directly turn on Pet Mode”—the system will skip confirmation and execute the last saved configuration.

Furthermore, the Li Auto app, serving as a secondary control terminal, also supports remote toggling, screensaver activation, and temperature presetting, truly enabling “control inside and outside the vehicle with ease.”

The Value Anchor in the Era of Embodied Intelligence

From an industry perspective, OTA 8.2’s “Pet Mode” is not just a feature update; it is a concentrated externalization of Li Auto’s product value philosophy.

First, it is another testament to a “user-centric” approach.

By the end of 2025, Li Auto has established over 560 after-sales service centers across 224 cities, serving more than 1.5 million owners. As the user base expands, demands become increasingly diverse. Li Auto has not neglected the needs of niche groups due to company growth—instead, it continuously expands vehicle service boundaries through OTA upgrades.

From the early “big bed mode” to today’s “Pet Mode,” Li Auto has always been committed to exploring and satisfying the latent needs of family users. This capability is its core competitive moat.

Second, it is a vivid implementation of AI technology in everyday scenarios.

Today, the automotive industry is heavily investing in AI and embodied intelligence research. Li Auto demonstrates the embryonic form of embodied intelligence through “Pet Mode”: the car is no longer a cold machine but an integrated intelligent entity with visual perception (cameras), environmental control (air conditioning), and natural interaction (voice). It can understand scenarios (owner leaving the car), perceive objects (pet status), and proactively perform tasks (temperature control and monitoring).

Essentially, the linkage between Pet Mode and art frame functions, along with the underlying automation logic, exemplifies Li Auto’s successful shift of AI from “showcase” to “service.” It proves that true intelligence is not only reflected in high-speed highway autonomous driving but also in whether, when the owner leaves the vehicle, it can care for every life inside as a family member through perception and decision-making.

Conclusion

This update of “Pet Mode” is not a major technological breakthrough, but it best represents Li Auto’s character. It is also the core logic behind this company’s leadership in the new force segment—beyond hardcore parameters, focusing on and solving specific micro-family pain points. This is the real reason it can continue to lead the industry.

OTA 8.2 not only upgrades the vehicle system but also redefines the “mobile home”: here, technology is not just a cold efficiency tool but a warm force that protects family members.