Li Auto Releases Its First Pure Electric SUV, Li Auto i8
On Tuesday, Li Auto officially introduced its first pure electric SUV, the Li Auto i8, hot on the heels of its MEGA pure electric MPV. The vehicle will feature LIDAR technology and through-type tail lights.
The i series, which includes the i8, represents a new line of pure electric SUVs from Li Auto. Together with the L series and MEGA, they form a comprehensive product lineup. Li Auto‘s CEO, Li Xiang, took to social media to share insights into the meanings behind their product series. He explained that the “L” in their extended-range SUVs signifies “Leading”, while the “i” in their pure electric SUVs stands for “Intelligence”.
News of the i8’s unveiling had a positive impact on Li Auto‘s performance in the Hong Kong stock market. The company’s shares saw a midday increase of over 12%, with a peak increase surpassing 14%.
Li Auto launched its first pure electric model, the MEGA, on March 1 of the previous year with a price tag of 559,800 yuan. The company initially aimed for it to be the top-selling vehicle in the category and energy form above 500,000 yuan. However, the MEGA faced a series of challenges after its launch and did not meet the set objectives.
Following the MEGA’s underperformance, Li Auto decided to delay the launch of the three pure electric SUVs, originally slated for release within 2024, to the first half of this year. The subsequent release of the Li Auto L8, the company’s first model priced under 300,000 yuan, helped turn around the company’s fortunes. Over the course of last year, Li Auto delivered over 500,000 units, marking a 33.1% increase year-on-year and securing its position as the sales leader among new automakers.
However, Li Auto‘s leading position has come under threat at the start of 2025. The company suffered a sales slump in the first month, delivering 29,927 new vehicles, a decrease of 3.97% year-on-year and a significant drop of 48.85% from the previous month. This marked Li Auto as the only new force in the industry to see a double decline both month-on-month and year-on-year.
Meanwhile, XPeng Motors delivered a total of 30,350 new vehicles during the same period, reflecting a staggering year-on-year increase of 268.88%. This achievement, marking the third consecutive month of delivering over 30,000 vehicles, catapulted XPeng Motors back to the top of the sales leaderboard among new automakers after a 30-month hiatus.
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