Shanghai (ZXZC)- On October 14, Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker Li Auto celebrated a major achievement with the production of its one-millionth vehicle, a 2024 Li L9 vehicle, at its Changzhou Intelligent Manufacturing Base in Jiangsu province. It took Li Auto only 58 months to hit the production milestone. 

Photo credit: Li Auto

During the ceremony, the Jiangsu Province New Energy Vehicle Export Transformation and Upgrade Base was officially inaugurated, and the Changzhou government unveiled the "New Energy Vehicle Full-Scenario Ecosystem Support Plan." This initiative aims to boost local automotive supply chain's high-quality development, with projections that Changzhou city's NEV and related component output value will reach 1 trillion yuan by 2027.

Since the launch of its first model in November 2019, Li Auto has experienced rapid growth, focusing on user value across the entire vehicle lifecycle—from design and R&D to manufacturing, sales, and service. It has become the first Chinese automaker to scale the production of range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs).

Photo credit: Li Auto

Li Auto has rolled out a series of hotter-selling vehicle models, starting with the Li ONE SUV, which has recorded a cumulative delivery volume of over 210,000 units. The flagship six-seater SUV, Li L9, has also surpassed 210,000 units in cumulative deliveries, while the Li L8 has exceeded total deliveries of 180,000 units. Additionally, the five-seater flagship SUV Li L7 has crossed 220,000 units, and the recently launched Li L6 has exceeded 110,000 units since its market release in April this year. The company's flagship MPV, the Li MEGA, which features low-drag design and consumes just 15.9 kWh per 100 km, has become a main model in the above 500,000-yuan new energy MPV category.

In September 2024, Li Auto achieved record deliveries of around 53,000 vehicles, surpassing traditional luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi to become the top luxury car brand in China. With its rapidly expanding market share and improving operational efficiency, Li Auto has become the first Chinese NEV startup to achieve annual revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan.

Li Auto continues to invest heavily in in-house R&D of core technologies, allocating an average of 1 billion yuan every three days to R&D since last year. This has led to significant advancements in areas such as autonomous driving, smart spaces, electric mobility, and intelligent manufacturing. Its end-to-end autonomous driving architecture and VLM system are now in large-scale testing, offering safer and more convenient driving experiences to users.

In addition to self-developing core technologies, Li Auto collaborates closely with partners on key components, digitalization, and intelligent manufacturing. By sharing vast data resources with its supply chain, the company enhances product traceability, quality, and performance. As a leader in the supply chain ecosystem, Li Auto works hand-in-hand with partners to customize and upgrade products based on the needs of Chinese families.

As Li Auto continues to scale, its supply chain partners, including firms like KH Automotive Technologies for air suspension, Hesai Technology for LiDAR, Horizon Robotics for intelligent driving computing platform, and FUTURUS for HUDs, have grown into industry's main players. The company has also partnered with CATL to co-develop the world's first mass-produced 5C fast-charging battery and collaborated with Inovance on the development of a five-in-one front-drive assembly.