Li Auto has reorganized its management structure, with founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang shifting his primary focus to artificial intelligence (AI), as the company accelerates its ambition to become a leading global AI firm by 2030.
The restructuring, implemented after the 2025 Chinese New Year holiday, assigns President Ma Donghui to lead the company’s smart car strategy, overseeing planning and execution in the automotive sector, according to a report by local media outlet 21jingji, citing multiple sources.
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Ma has also taken over as head of Li Auto’s “production, supply and sales joint committee,” a key decision-making body formed in late 2022 amid rising competition from Huawei-backed Aito. Li remains a member of the committee and will continue to be involved in strategic decisions regarding the company’s automotive business.
A source familiar with the matter said the shift reflects management’s view that Li Auto’s automotive operations are now relatively mature, allowing Li to focus on advancing AI capabilities. “Li sees vehicles as the most significant AI application in the physical world, but the company’s AI ambitions extend beyond just building cars,” the report stated.
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Li Auto has long positioned itself as an AI-driven company. In an internal letter dated January 28, 2023, Li outlined a vision to become the world’s leading AI company by 2030, emphasizing that smart electric vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities would be the first AI robots. In December 2023, he reiterated this perspective at an AI Talk event, describing the evolution of cars from industrial-era machines to AI-driven “space robots.”
As part of its AI expansion, Li Auto launched the standalone Lixiang Tongxue App on December 27, 2023, initially as an in-car AI chatbot. Recent Weibo posts indicate that the app has integrated DeepSeek R1 and V3 AI models to enhance user experience, signaling further advancements in the company’s AI ecosystem.