- Li Auto CEO said making sedans would sacrifice space and comfort, contradicting the brand's core design philosophy centered on "home."
- The all-new Li L9 Livis will officially launch on May 15, featuring Li Auto's in-house developed smart driving chip for the first time.
Li Auto's (NASDAQ: LI) product lineup has so far lacked any sedan models, making it an outlier among Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers. Now its CEO has offered an explanation.
It is not that Li Auto doesn't want to build sedans, but doing so would sacrifice space and comfort, contradicting the company's pursuit of "home," its founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang said Wednesday on Weibo.
Furthermore, if a sedan is made taller to ensure interior space, it would ruin the vehicle's proportions and stance, Li said.
He noted that proportions and stance determine the vast majority of a car's character, and Li Auto's design philosophy is to pursue perfect proportions and stance.
Li Auto's current product lineup includes the L-series extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models — Li L6, Li L7, Li L8, and Li L9; as well as battery electric vehicle (BEV) models — Li i6, Li i8, and Li Mega.
The Li Mega is an electric MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), while all other models are SUVs (sport utility vehicles).
Despite refusing to compromise on design for now, Li Auto has not completely ruled out the possibility of entering the sedan market in the future, but has set a high threshold.
During an earnings call in May 2025, Li said the existing EREV SUV and BEV product lines have a ceiling high enough to support the company in achieving an annual revenue scale of 300 billion yuan ($43.9 billion).
Only after successfully reaching this massive revenue milestone will Li Auto decide when to officially launch a sedan product line based on actual market demand, Li said at the time.
While sticking to its current product line strategy, the Chinese EV maker is preparing to further consolidate its market position by launching its latest flagship model.
The new Li L9 Livis EREV SUV will officially launch on May 15. The model made its debut and began pre-sales on April 24, the first day of the Beijing Auto Show, with a pre-sales price of 559,800 yuan.
The new vehicle will be the first to feature two of Li Auto's in-house developed 5-nanometer M100 smart driving chips, boasting a computing power of up to 2560 TOPS, far exceeding the capabilities of Nvidia's Thor-U currently used in the mainstream market.
The Li L9 Livis is equipped with a 72.7-kWh battery pack, offering a CLTC battery range of 420 kilometers and supporting 5C supercharging. With a full tank and full charge, its combined range exceeds 1,500 kilometers.
Notably, Li Auto's local peer Nio's sub-brand Onvo will also officially launch its L80 large five-seat pure electric SUV on May 15.
Li Auto delivered 34,085 vehicles in April, up slightly by 0.43% from 33,939 a year earlier, but down 16.97% from 41,053 in March, according to data released on May 1.
($1 = 6.8300 yuan)
