Startup Li Auto is beating Tesla China’s EV sales

BEIJING
—
Chinese
startup


Li
Auto
sold
more
cars
than


Tesla’s
China
business
did
in
October,
according
to
the
China
Passenger
Car
Association.

The
startup
sold
a
record
40,422
cars
in
October,
far
more
than
Tesla
did
at
28,626,
association
data
showed
Thursday.

Li
Auto
also
forecast
it
would
keep
delivering
cars
at
a
similar
pace
in
the
fourth
quarter:
Between
41,700
to
42,600
vehicles
a
month.

Unlike
Tesla’s
battery-only
models,
Li
Auto’s
vehicles
—
all
SUVs
—
come
with
a
fuel
tank
for
charging
the
battery.
That
helps
ease
consumers’
concerns
about
driving
range.

Li
Auto
plans
to
begin
delivering
its
first
battery-only
model
in
February
2024,
the
MEGA
multi-purpose
vehicle.
The
company
said
it’s
planning
three
more
battery-only
vehicles
for
launch
in
the
second
half
of
next
year.

Li
Auto’s
cars
currently
sell
for
between
319,800
yuan
($43,910)
to
459,800
yuan.
The
Model
3
and
Model
Y
start
at
lower
prices,
259,900
yuan
and
263,900
yuan,
respectively.

It’s
unclear
whether
Li
Auto
will
continue
to
sell
more
cars
than
Tesla
going
forward.
In
September,
Tesla
sold
43,507
cars
while
Li
Auto
sold
36,060,
China
Passenger
Car
Association
data
showed.

Li
Auto
on
Thursday
reported
third-quarter
earnings
and
revenue
above
FactSet
estimates.

Unlike
many
local
peers,
the
company
has
no
immediate
overseas
expansion
plans.

The
startup,
however,
is
looking
at

driver-assist
tech
as
a
way
to
compete
in
China’s
hot
electric
car
market.

The
company
plans
to
more
than
double
the
size
of
its
research
and
development
team
for
autonomous
driving,
from
around
900
people
to
more
than
2,500
by
the
end
of
2025,
President
Donghui
Ma
said
on
an
earnings
call
Thursday,
according
to
a
FactSet
transcript.