The move is in response to competition from Huawei-backed Aito's new M7, and Li Auto's sales expectation for the Li L6 is 20,000 units per month, according to local media.
(Alleged spy shot of the Li L6 shared by car blogger @张哲学ZX.)
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is planning to move up the launch of its five-seat SUV Li L6, originally scheduled for June, to early April, local media outlet LatePost reported on January 5, citing a source close to the company.
The move is to counter competition from Huawei-backed Aito's new M7, the source said, adding that Li Auto's sales expectation for the Li L6 is 20,000 units per month.
Aito, the premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand launched by Huawei and Seres Group on December 2, 2021, rolled out the new Aito M7 on September 12, which like the older model is available only in extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) version.
Li Auto's three models currently on sale are the Li L7, Li L8, and Li L9, all EREVs, all priced at more than 300,000 yuan ($42,010).
The company had planned to launch the Li Mega (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), which will be its first battery electric vehicle (BEV) model, in December, but the launch has been pushed back to March 1.
On November 27, Aito said it had accumulated more than 100,000 firm orders for the new Aito M7 after 2 and a half months on the market.
Aito delivered 24,468 vehicles in December, with the new M7 contributing 20,611, or 84 percent, according to figures released by the brand on January 1.
By the end of December, the new M7 had received more than 120,000 firm orders, Aito said, adding that a total of 48,552 units of the model had been delivered.
Aito is continuing to increase its delivery capacity, which is expected to exceed 30,000 units in a single month from 2024, it said.
On September 22, 2022, Li Auto said it would launch the Li L6, a mid-sized five-seat SUV priced within RMB 300,000, its first mention of the model which would also be an EREV.
In August 2023, a model suspected to be the Li L6 was spotted undergoing road tests, marking the first time spy shots of the model circulated on social media.
Yesterday, automotive blogger @张哲学ZX shared four spy shots of what is allegedly the Li L6 on Weibo, claiming that the model is undergoing road testing and could be released in the first quarter.
The Li L6 will be a scaled-down version of the Li L7 and will be highly competitive in the market priced at RMB 300,000 or less, the blogger said.
Li Auto will challenge annual deliveries of 800,000 units as well as monthly deliveries of 100,000 units in 2024, Li Xiang, its founder, chairman, and CEO, hinted in a January 1 Weibo post. The company delivered a record 50,353 vehicles in December and 376,030 for the full year 2023.
Aito's sales target for 2024 is 600,000 units, LatePost said in a December 26 report, citing several people familiar with the matter.
($1 = RMB 7.1412)
Li Auto to challenge 100,000 monthly deliveries and 800,000 annual deliveries in 2024, CEO hints
