Li Auto said it was targeting 3,000 charging stations by 2025 when it unveiled its all-electric solution at last year’s Shanghai auto show.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
A leaked document shows Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) will more than triple its plans to build supercharging stations, as its first battery electric vehicle (BEV) model is set to be launched next month.
Li Auto aims to have more than 10,000 supercharging stations by 2025, with a 20 percent market share, local automotive media outlet Yiche said in a report today, citing the company’s supercharging station partnership program plan.
The target is more than triple Li Auto’s previously announced plan, as it said on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, 2023, that it would have 3,000 charging stations by 2025, covering 90 percent of China’s highway mileage and major cities.
As of the end of January, Li Auto had 332 supercharging stations in China, according to data released by the company earlier this month.
(A Tesla Model 3 charges at a highway service area using Li Auto’s charging station. Image credit: CnEVPost)
Li Auto will fast-track the construction of charging stations by allowing third-party partnerships and utilizing the resources of its partners, according to the leaked plan.
Li Auto is looking at 2023 as the launch of its supercharging station construction efforts, 2024 as the maturation phase, and 2025 as the “breakout” phase.
The company aims to have more than 4,000 supercharging stations by 2024, covering 90 percent of China’s first-, second- and third-tier cities, with a market share of 11 percent, capable of meeting the charging needs of 130,000 BEV owners.
By 2025, Li Auto aims to further expand its supercharger network to China’s tier 4 and 5 cities, reaching 90 percent coverage of these less developed cities and meeting the charging needs of 920,000 BEV owners.
By 2026, Li Auto’s supercharging stations will be able to meet the charging needs of 2.16 million BEV owners, according to the plan.
(Plans for Li Auto’s charging station buildout shared by Yiche.)
Li Auto currently sells the Li L7, Li L8 and Li L9, all of which are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), essentially plug-in hybrids.
The company will officially launch the Li Mega MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), which is its first BEV, on March 1 and will begin deliveries in early March, according to its previous announcement.
(Li Mega. Image credit: Li Auto)
On January 11, Li Auto said it will release and begin deliveries of 2,024 models of its L-series EREVs in March.
Li Auto unveiled its all-electric solution at last year’s Shanghai auto show and began building its own supercharging stations in the first half of last year, opening the first seven 4C supercharging stations for trial operation on April 20.
Building the supercharging stations is paving the way for sales of Li Auto’s BEVs, which the company aims to challenge in 2024 with 800,000 annual sales.
Li Auto is targeting sales of at least 400,000 units of its three existing models in 2024, with the new EREV Li L6 selling 30,000 units a month and the Li Mega selling 8,000 units a month, the company’s senior vice president, Zou Liangjun, said in a January 12 interview with local media.
Li Auto will launch three BEV models based on the high-voltage platform in the second half of 2024, Zou said.
Exec reveals how Li Auto plans to achieve 800,000 car sales in 2024
