Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Li Auto Inc., a prominent player in China's new energy vehicle sector, has released its unaudited financial results for the first quarter (Q1) of 2025. The company posted total revenue of RMB25.9 billion (US$3.6 billion), marking a modest 1.1% increase from RMB25.6 billion a year earlier, but a significant 41.4% decline from the RMB44.3 billion recorded in the previous quarter.

Photo credit: Li Auto

Revenue from vehicle sales reached RMB24.7 billion (US$3.4 billion) in Q1 2025, up 1.8% year over year, but down 42.1% compared to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024. The year-over-year growth was driven by higher vehicle deliveries, though this was partially offset by a lower average selling price due to a shift in product mix. The quarter-over-quarter drop was mainly attributed to a seasonal decline in deliveries linked to the Chinese New Year holiday.

In total, Li Auto delivered 92,864 vehicles during Q1 2025, reflecting a 15.5% increase from the same period last year.

Gross profit for the quarter stood at RMB5.3 billion (US$732.9 million), nearly unchanged from a year ago but down 40.7% from the previous quarter. The gross margin held steady at 20.5%, compared with 20.6% in Q1 2024 and 20.3% in Q4 2024.

Vehicle margin rose slightly to 19.8% in Q1 this year, up from 19.3% in the same period last year and 19.7% in the preceding quarter. The year-over-year improvement was mainly driven by reduced costs and adjusted pricing strategies, though product mix changes had a moderating effect. Margins remained largely stable over the previous quarter.

Research and development expenses came in at RMB2.5 billion (US$346.4 million) in Q1 2025, a 17.5% decrease from RMB3 billion in Q1 2024, primarily due to lower employee compensation and slower rollout of new vehicle programs. Compared to Q4 2024, R&D spending edged up by 4.4%, remaining relatively consistent quarter over quarter.

Looking ahead, Li Auto expects vehicle deliveries in the second quarter of 2025 to range between 123,000 and 128,000 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.3% to 17.9%. The company also anticipates total revenue between RMB32.5 billion (US$4.5 billion) and RMB33.8 billion (US$4.7 billion), reflecting a 2.5% to 6.7% rise from the same period last year.

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