Li Auto reiterated the company’s confidence that the Li Mega will be the top seller in the car market with a price tag of more than RMB 500,000 yuan.
(Image credit: Li Auto)
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) has officially launched its first battery electric vehicle (BEV) model and updated its existing models, hoping they will help the company challenge annual sales of 800,000 units.
The Chinese automaker officially today rolled out the Li Mega MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), as well as updated versions of three other extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models, the Li L7, Li L8 and Li L9, at a launch event in Beijing, where the company is headquartered.
The Li Mega is currently only available in the Max trim, with a starting price of RMB 559,800 ($77,770), making it the most expensive Li Auto model to date.
The updates to the three existing models in the L-series see configuration upgrades, as well as price hikes for two Pro trims, unlike many other Chinese EV makers who have lowered prices through model updates.
The Li Mega is a seven-seat MPV with length, width and height of 5,350 mm, 1,965 mm and 1,850 mm respectively and a wheelbase of 3,300 mm.
The model’s exterior resembles the locomotive of a Chinese high-speed rail, a design that helps reduce wind resistance to Cd 0.215, about the same as a coupe.
The low wind resistance design gives the Li Mega good range performance, with a CLTC range of 710 kilometers, powered by a 102.7-kWh battery pack.
The battery pack is Qilin Battery from battery giant CATL, which was released in June 2022. Li Auto said its joint development with CATL allows the vehicle to support 5C ultra-fast charging.
C refers to the charging multiplier, and 5C means the vehicle can theoretically be fully charged from zero in one-fifth of an hour.
Li Auto said the model can get 500 kilometers of range on a 12-minute charge.
To allay range anxiety among potential customers, Li Auto is building supercharging stations, with the goal of having a total of 2,000 stations in China by the end of this year.
Over the next few years, Li Auto will invest at least RMB 6 billion to build more than 5,000 directly-operated supercharging stations that support 5C charging, Li Xiang, the company’s founder, chairman, and CEO, said at today’s launch.
In urban areas, Li Auto is bringing in partners for charging network construction to build supercharging stations with charging power that can exceed 300 kW, enabling the Li Mega to get a 500-kilometer range on a 15-minute charge, Li said.
The Li Mega is powered by dual electric motors with a total powertrain power of 400 kW and a total torque of 542 Nm. The model can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.5 seconds.
The MPV model’s intelligent driving system, AD Max, is powered by two Nvidia Orin X chips, which together provides 508 Tops of computing power.
Its smart cockpit is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, which is also standard on mainstream premium models launched in the past few months.
Deliveries of the Li Mega will begin on March 11, and customers who order the model before then can get a free 20-kW DC charging pile or 6,000 kWh of free charging.
Customers who order the Li Mega between March 11 and April 30 will receive 3,000 kWh of free charging.
Li Auto reiterated the company’s confidence in the Li Mega becoming known as the top seller in the market for cars priced above RMB 500,000.
Li Auto delivered 376,030 vehicles in 2023 through the hot sales of the L-series models, reaching the 300,000-unit delivery target and being one of the few Chinese EV makers to reach annual targets.
Updates to the L-series mainly include an upgrade of the cockpit chip to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, as well as upgrades to comfort features.
Li Auto has upgraded the battery pack capacity from 42.8 kWh to 52.3 kWh for both trims of the L9, as well as for the top-trims of the Li L7 and Li L8, which increases the WLTC battery range from just under 180 kilometers to about 240 kilometers.
On a full tank of fuel and a full charge, the L-series models have a combined range of more than 1,400 kilometers.
The Li L7 continues to be available in Air, Pro, and Max trims with starting prices of RMB 319,800, RMB 349,800, and RMB 379,800, respectively.
The Li L8 continues to be available in Air, Pro, and Max trims, with starting prices of RMB 339,800, RMB 369,800, and RMB 399,800, respectively.
The Li L9 is still available in Pro and Max configurations with starting prices of RMB 429,800 and RMB 459,800, respectively.
Notably, the starting prices of the Pro versions of both the Li L7 and Li L8 has increased by RMB 10,000 from the previous prices.
Deliveries of the L-series models will begin on March 3, and customers who order before March 31 will be entitled to a RMB 5,000 option fund.
Li Auto said earlier this year that it aims to challenge annual sales of 800,000 units and monthly sales of 100,000 units in 2024.
The Li Mega would challenge monthly sales of 8,000 units after its launch, the company’s senior vice president Zou Liangjun said in a January 12 interview with local media.
Li Auto would strive to ensure that the market share of the three models in the L series do not decline, Zou said.
($1 = RMB 7.1985)
Exec reveals how Li Auto plans to achieve 800,000 car sales in 2024
