Chinese electric car maker Li Auto is hopeful to expand its sales network. With one model, Li ONE extended-range electric sport utility vehicle, the EV maker plans to sell 10,000 cars monthly.
EV sales in China
Top EV players in China include Tesla, BYD, and Wuling. Followed by Nio and Xpeng in 2021 quarter 1 sales. And BYD was able to sell 54,751 cars, while Wuling sold 39,745 units in Q1. Furthermore, Tesla had local sales of 35,478 units (not including the export vehicles).
Additionally, only three companies were able to sell more than 30,000 electric cars after the pandemic hit the industry sales. Nio being more popular among its customers for selling cheaper vehicles was only able to sell 20,060 units in 2021 Q1. Followed by Xpeng selling 13,340 units.
Li Auto plans
Li Auto is a sports utility car maker, different from regular car drivers. Recently in April, Li Auto successfully raised USD$750 million to develop a new product. It is a company backed by Meituan, a mainland online delivery service giant.
Now, the president, Shen Yanan says they expect their monthly sales to increase to 10,000 by September. In April, they were able to sell 5,539 units, meaning they are going to double their sales in 4-5 months.
Earlier during Q1 2021, Li Xiang said that sales below 10,000 units are expected. Also added that they will try to keep up the sales to 6,000 to 8,000 units monthly. As per the reports, Li Auto has been close enough to their prediction last time.
They say that they are going to expand their sales network with a direct-sales model strategy. They further added that a research team will be focusing on how to get their models in other countries.
Already, Li Auto has 75 stores in more than 50 Chinese cities. Besides networking, they plan to invest 3 billion yuan in research and development.
Li Auto Sports-Utility
Though research has been mentioned, they haven’t told anything about a new model. The current Li Auto Sports Utility costs about 200,000 to 500,000 Yuan depending on the range.
Li ONE is a six-seater premium electric SUV, which has a maximum range of up to 800km with an extended range.
Comparing it as a product with the other local electric cars, the cheapest Li ONE costs as much as a regular Nio car. Also has a better range when compared with the latest version Nio ES8 with a range of 580km.
Li Auto’s founder, Li Xiang was listed in Forbes’s upcoming 210 Chinese New Comers in the 2021 rich list. And Li Auto was always among one of the tough competitors’ lists for EV makers in China.
