Asia Tech Wire (Oct 21) -- Chinese electric car maker Li Auto's overseas expansion plans have slowed down significantly from its plans a year ago, according to LatePost.

Last year, media reports said Li Auto planned to enter the markets of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries by 2024, and that it planned to set up a network of directly-managed stores and complete vehicle factories overseas in the future.

However, Zou Liangjun, senior vice president of sales and service at Li Auto, confirmed in May that the company's overseas expansion was slowing down and that its sales model had been changed from full direct operation to partial cooperation with dealers.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Sunday's report said Li Auto's management believes it needs to be better prepared to go overseas.

Li Auto will not simply change the language of its car system from Chinese to English, but hopes that its overseas models will be designed exclusively for local consumers and will be somewhat different from those sold in China, the people said.

Another person familiar with the matter analyzed that the complexity of the Middle East market is also beyond Li Auto's expectations, and that it is slowing down its overseas expansion because the timing is not yet ripe.