The founders of Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) have responded as Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced its upcoming Model Y L, which could reshape China's six-seat SUV (sport utility vehicle) market.
With the continuous improvement of charging and battery swap infrastructure, along with product and technological innovations, the era of electrification for large-space SUVs has arrived, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said yesterday.
Li made the comment while reposting Tesla's Weibo about the Model Y L, noting that Nio's sub-brand Onvo's L90 SUV is an innovative product born out of this context.
"Let's power up together!" Li wrote.
Li Auto founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang also said on Weibo yesterday that the Model Y L is a six-seat pure electric SUV worthy of respect, and consumers interested in six-seat pure electric SUVs priced between RMB 200,000 ($27,860) and RMB 300,000 can look forward to the model.
If the need is for a five-seat model, then the Li i6, set to be released in September, is worth keeping an eye on, the Li Auto founder said.
Tesla announced yesterday that the Model Y L will be launched this fall. The model entered a regulatory catalog of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) yesterday, revealing its core specifications.
The Model Y L measures 4,976 mm in length, 1,920 mm in width, and 1,668 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,040 mm.
For comparison, the updated five-seat Model Y launched in China on January 10 measures 4,797 mm in length, 1,920 mm in width, and 1,624 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,890 mm.
Tesla has not hinted at the pricing information for the Model Y L, but some local media reports cited industry sources as saying that the six-seat SUV is expected to be priced around RMB 400,000.
The five-seat Model Y is currently available in China in two variants: a rear-wheel-drive version starting at RMB 263,500, and a long-range all-wheel-drive version starting at RMB 313,500.
The unveiling of the Model Y L comes as the six-seat SUV market in China has become one of the most competitive segments.
The six-seat SUV market is heating up in the second half of the year, with an increasing number of all-electric six-seat SUVs emerging, Onvo president Shen Fei said on Weibo yesterday, adding that three all-electric six-seat SUVs have been announced in the past couple of days.
"We hope the Onvo L90 will offer users a all-in-one solution," Shen said.
Onvo began pre-sales of its three-row SUV L90 on July 10, with the official launch scheduled for the end of this month and deliveries set to begin on August 1.
The L90 will first deliver the six-seat version, with the seven-seat version to follow later, according to Nio management.
Li Auto will officially launch the Li i8, its first all-electric SUV, on July 29
In September, Li Auto will launch its second electric SUV, the Li i6, which was listed in the MIIT's catalog last month.
($1 = RMB 7.1789)
