Chinese electric vehicle maker and Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) rival Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI) reported monthly deliveries exceeding 20,000 for the second consecutive month, owing to the rising popularity of its Li L7 SUV.
Li Auto delivered 25,681 vehicles in April, marking an increase of 516.3% year over year and 23% as compared to March. The numbers surpass Li’s March delivery record of 20,823 units to set a new monthly record.
“We are pleased to have delivered over 10,000 Li L7s in its first full month of deliveries, establishing the vehicle as a preferred choice among five-seat premium SUVs for Chinese families while marking the first time a Chinese branded five-seat SUV priced above RMB300,000 has achieved this monthly delivery milestone,” said Li Auto chairman and CEO Xiang Li in a statement.
Li Auto expects to roll out in 100 cities across China by year-end. It further expects to expand its product portfolio with one super flagship vehicle, five EREVs, and five HPC BEVs by 2025.
The Li L7 is a five-seat flagship SUV launched in February. The model is available in three trims- Li L7 Air, Li L7 Pro, and Li L7 Max priced at RMB319,800, RMB339,800, and RMB379,800, respectively.
In the first quarter, Li Auto’s first-quarter deliveries rose 65.8% year-over-year to 52,584 units, hitting the low end of the company’s guidance range of 52,000 to 55,000 units. In the first quarter, Tesla’s China-made vehicle sales were 229,322, up 25.9% from a year earlier.
Li Auto is only manufactured for the Chinese market as Tesla sells very high in North America, Europe, and Asia. Tesla is slowly making it way into Africa where they implanted charging stations in Morocco.
Other automakers have entered the EV market that includes General Motors (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F), Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), Hyundai (OTCMKTS: HYMTF), Daimler (OTCMKTS: MBGYY), Volvo (OTCMKTS: VLVLY), and BMW (OTCMKTS: BMWYY).
Volvo is the subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese based company, as its EV vehicles are branded as Polestar.
Tesla has been the dominant EV brand since the early 2010s as the Model S was a positive sell including the Model X. Currently the Model 3 and the Model Y have become Tesla’s cash cow that is made affordable to the public with its advanced technology.
Tesla has set up charging stations around the U.S. and the rest of the world catered to only Tesla stations.
Norway is the first country to ban the sale of fossil fuel cars and will only sell EVs in 2025 as Tesla has stores present in the country.
“Eight out of 10 people choosing fully electric instead of combustion engines is a considerable step towards Norway reaching its climate goal of 100% BEV [battery electric vehicle] sales in 2025,” said Christina Bu, Secretary General of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
California is the first state in the United States to ban the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2035. Tesla’s market is extremely strong in that market.
Produced in association with Benzinga
