Top stories of Li Auto in 2021

In 2021, China’s smart electric vehicle company Li Auto saw many milestones completed. For deliveries, the company managed to sell over 10,000 per month in the last two months of the year while its annual deliveries exceeded 90,000 units. For production, its Beijing plant also started construction with production expected to commence in 2023. Another important thing for the company is that it listed on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. in 2021.

Photo credit: Li Auto

The following are some important news of Li Auto in 2021.

Li Auto aims to be NO.1 smart electric vehicle maker in China by 2025

Li Auto aims to be NO.1 smart electric vehicle maker in China, according to the startup’s 2025 Strategy announced on February 22. In an internal letter, Li Xiang, the company’s founder, chairman and CEO, said that its target for 2025 is to obtain 20% market share in the world’s largest auto market.

In the next five years, Li Auto will grow from one to ten with strong development momentum. The main challenge during this period is to be a leader by sales among smart electric vehicle brands in China and a contender for leadership in the global market.

Li Auto predicts that China will sell more than 8 million smart electric vehicles in 2025. If a company wants to be a leader in the segment, it needs to gain at least 20% market share. That means the company’s sales need to exceed 1.6 million units in 2025.

Li Auto’s all models to come standard with autonomous driving system

The entire model series of Li Auto will come standard with driver assistance and autonomous driving systems, which encompass software, data service, map service, computing hardware and sensors, Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, recently said via his personal Weibo account.

He added these amenities will be standard to all models at any price range. The company will not charge consumers for either software activation or subscription.

Li Auto establishes EV technology development subsidiary in Shanghai

Chinese EV startup Li Auto set up its Shanghai branch on April 20 after it announced in early February the plan of launching a R&D center in this megacity.

According to the corporate data platform Tianyancha, the subsidiary involves a registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($153.853 million) and is wholly controlled by Leading Ideal HK Limited. Located in Anting town, Jiading district, it has a line of business covering the development of the technologies related to automobiles, cloud platform and big data, the planning, R&D and design of EV charging and battery swapping infrastructures, as well as the R&D of the facilities and auto parts in relation to battery swapping station, charging pile and energy storage system.

Li Auto unveils new Li ONE, expects monthly delivery to reach 10,000 soon

Li Auto, an innovator in China’s new energy vehicle market, unveiled the latest version of the Li ONE, its only vehicle model for sale currently, with improvements in powertrain system, driving assistance system, intelligent cockpit, and user experience.

The price of the standard 2021 Li ONE stands at RMB 338,000 (about 52,762 dollars), with black, white, silver and grey body-color options while the Baby Blue, Tech Blue and Deep Green ones are priced at RMB 348,000 (about 54,323 dollars). The delivery will start from June 1.

Li Auto lists in Hong Kong, reveals product plans

Li Auto has passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 26, becoming the second Chinese electric vehicle startup listed on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) after XPeng Motors.

Li Auto also unveiled its product plans in the filing. In 2022, it will launch the first model on its X platform, a full-size premium range-extended electric SUV, followed by two range-extended SUVs built on the X platform in 2023.

The automaker is also investing in battery electric vehicle technologies. And it wants to develop battery electric vehicles with super fast charging capabilities. From 2023 on, the company aims to launch at least two high voltage battery electric vehicle models per year based on its Whale and Shark platforms. With its high-power charging network, charging will become faster, cheaper, and more accessible, the company added.

Li Auto sets up joint venture with BMW’s supplier for range extension system

On August 27th, Li Auto signed an investment agreement with Mianyang Xinchen Engine Co., Ltd. (also known as PXC), a subsidiary of Xinchen China Power Holdings Ltd. to set up a new joint venture. The venture, named Sichuan Lixiang Xinchen Technology Ltd., will develop and manufacture next generation range extension system.

PXC is one of China's leading independent automotive engine manufacturers in passenger vehicle and light commercial vehicle engine market, and an authorized third-party engine manufacturer of BMW.

Li Auto releases OTA 2.2 with multi-section voice control

Li Auto released its OTA 2.2 version recently which has been pushed to users already. The new version includes two significant updates, the application center and the free conversation function.

The 2.2 version Li application center is more flexible as the function is no longer subject to OTA system updates. The improved function allows users to customize their app list, updating, downloading or removing applications as they please.

Notably, the highlight of this update is the new and optimized voice control assistant, Li Xiang Tongxue (schoolmate Li Xiang in English). The assistant is updated in over 70 aspects, including useful functions like continuous conversation, four-section sound lock (in driver’s seat, passenger seat, rear-left section, and rear-right section), and cross-section context dialogue.

Li Auto cuts Q3 delivery forecast due to chip supply shortage

China’s new energy vehicle innovator Li Auto lowered its delivery outlook for the third quarter of this year due to the supply shortage of automotive chips.

The automaker said in a statement on Monday that the production of chips dedicated for its millimeter-wave radar supplier has been severely hampered because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Since the recovery of the supply has been slower than expected, Li Auto expects its quarterly deliveries to be about 24,500 vehicles from a previous 25,000-26,000 vehicles.

The automaker will continue to monitor the market conditions and work closely with its suppliers to minimize the impact of the chip shortage on its production.

Li Auto breaks ground for Beijing plant, production starting 2023

Li Auto announced the ground breaking for its green and smart plant building on the automaker’s recently acquired former Beijing Hyundai first plant.

Li Auto’s Beijing green and smart factory is located in Shunyi District. With over RMB6 billion to be invested in total, the automaker projected a production-ready date by the end of 2023, producing brand new battery-electric products in the future. The plant will utilize Beijing Hyundai’s existing workshops as much as possible, up to 60%. The new plant is expected to realize a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles annually, in phase one, Li Auto added.

Li Auto’s 100,000th vehicle rolls off production line

China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) innovator Li Auto celebrated its production of 100,000th vehicle today at its Changzhou production base in Jiangsu province.

Currently, the automaker only has the Li ONE for sale, so the cumulative production volume of the model amounted to 100,000, becoming the first single model to achieve the milestone among all products from China’s NEV startups, including NIO and XPeng.

Mr. Shen Yanan, president of Li Auto, said that it only took the company 708 days to realize the production milestone of 100,000 vehicles, indicating that the Li ONE is well received by the market and marking that the company has completed the capability building of the full chain, covering R&D and manufacturing system, sales service system and supply chain system.

Li Auto forms framework agreement with Chongqing government

China’s auto startup, Li Auto, has inked a strategic partnership framework agreement with the municipal government of Chongqing.

The local government authorities have great hopes for Li Auto to take the opportunity and actively participate in the development of Chongqing’s automotive industry. By focusing on the auto industry’s technology and industrial innovations, Li Auto’s participation is encouraged to build an ecosystem for new energy and intelligent connected vehicles’ industrial development in Chongqing.

Founder and CEO of Li Auto, Li Xiang, expressed that the company will play to its advantages, and further expand its investment in the city, to cement the relationship.

Li Auto delivers 14,087 vehicles in December

Li Auto set another new record for its monthly deliveries in the last month of 2021, the automaker announced on the first day of 2022.

Last month, Li Auto delivered 14,087 Li ONEs, representing a year-on-year surge of 130%, while its quarterly deliveries amounted to 35,221 vehicles, up 40.2% quarter over quarter and 143.5% year over year. The quarterly results were much higher than its outlook (between 30,000 and 32,000 vehicles) the company announced in November.

For the whole year, the company’s deliveries soared 177.4% year over year to 90,491 vehicles. The cumulative deliveries of the Li ONE totaled 124,088 vehicles since its deliveries started.