Li Auto
| Public | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded 📆 | 2015 |
| Founder 👔 | Li Xiang |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | 31,591 (2023) |
| 🌐 Website | https://www.lixiang.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Li Auto Inc. (Chinese: 理想汽车; pinyin: Lǐxiǎng Qìchē; lit. 'ideal car') is a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Beijing, with manufacturing facilities in Changzhou. Founded by Li Xiang in 2015, the company mainly builds electric vehicles that use range extenders for a power supply. Li Auto has vehicle manufacturing, engineering, and design services located in Changzhou, Jiangsu with corporate headquarters and research and development located in Beijing.[1][2]
History[edit]
In 2015, Li Xiang, founder of Chinese website PCPop and automotive website Autohome.com.cn, created a company called Beijing Chehejia Information Technology (Chehejia translates as "Car and Home"). It started its operations by developing and producing low-speed EVs that targeted car-sharing and ride-hailing services. In 2018, Chehejia reached an agreement for a joint venture with DiDi, China’s largest ride-hailing service company, but the plan collapsed shortly afterward. In the first half of 2018, Chehejia abandoned the low-speed EV project due to the lack of support from the Chinese central government for legalizing the EV category.
In 2019, the holding company Chehejia Technologies, based in the Cayman Islands, rebranded itself as Leading Ideal Inc. The following year, it shortened the name to Li Auto, and the company was renamed Li Auto Inc. In Chinese, the brand is commonly known as Lixiang (理想).
Li Auto unveiled its first model named the Li One in April 2019, with production beginning in November of the same year. It is a range-extended electric SUV powered by a combination of a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine, and a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery. Production was done at its Changzhou factory, with deliveries of the vehicle commencing in early 2020.
In July 2020, Li Auto made its debut on the Nasdaq stock market under the stock code "LI," raising USD 1.1 billion in its initial round of financing. Investors of the company include Meituan and Source Code Capital. Despite strong sales and significant popularity in the Chinese market, the company encountered difficulties in securing sufficient investment during its first year on the stock exchange, closing at only 70% of the anticipated value for its initial financing round.
