Li Auto, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, announced that it has achieved a major milestone with its cumulative vehicle deliveries topping 300,000. The company achieved this feat in just 39 months since it began delivering vehicles in December 2019, making it the fastest among China’s homegrown new luxury carmaker brands.
Li Auto’s latest announcement came after it delivered the Li L9, Li L8, and Li L7 models to three owners at its Beijing delivery center on March 24. The company’s cumulative deliveries as of the end of February were 289,095, with 15,141 and 16,620 vehicles delivered in January and February, respectively.
With more than 10,905 units delivered so far in March, Li Auto is on track to announce its March delivery figures on April 1. The company’s local peer NIO delivered its 300,000th vehicle in February but did not publicly market it. NIO’s cumulative deliveries through the end of February were 310,219.
Li Auto’s models currently on sale have gained close to 20 percent market share in the RMB 300,000 ($43,810)-500,000 price range, making it the luxury SUV brand of choice for families. All of the company’s current offerings are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) with an all-electric range of about 200 kilometers and the ability to refuel.
Li Auto continues to invest in R&D and has achieved in-house development and production of core components such as range-extender and XCU central domain controller. The company also insists on in-house R&D in assisted driving systems and makes models equipped with assisted driving systems as standard. As of March 23, Li Auto’s in-house developed AD smart driving system has accumulated more than 550 million kilometers, including more than 100 million kilometers for the NOA navigation assisted driving system.
While Li Auto currently does not have any pure electric models, it plans to release an MPV by the end of the year. NIO, on the other hand, exclusively offers pure electric models and had delivered more than 310,000 units as of February this year, accounting for over 66 percent of the premium EV market in January and February.
