Asia Tech Wire (June 4) -- Chinese electric car maker Li Auto (2015.HK) has recently merged the functions of its retail and delivery divisions into sales, a Chinese media report said.

Citing a person close to Li Auto, the report said that "the merger of the retail and delivery teams has resulted in a convergence of goals, which is more conducive to overall sales growth."

In response, Li Auto on Tuesday confirmed the veracity of the news of the merger of its retail and delivery divisions.

The automaker has reportedly been finalizing an organizational restructuring that began in early April.

Prior to the restructuring, Li Auto's sales and delivery teams were separate, with consumers experiencing and ordering their vehicles at experience stores before picking them up at delivery centers.

The separation of sales and delivery came about after Tesla entered the Chinese market, and Chinese EV makers such as Nio and Zeekr have adopted a similar model.

In May of this year, Li Auto reported deliveries of 35,020 units, up 23.8% year-on-year.

And in light of the weaker-than-expected deliveries, the company internally had drastically lowered its 2024 sales target to 560,000-640,000 units from the previous 650,000-800,000 units in late March.