Asia Tech Wire (Apr 19) -- Shares of Chinese electric car maker Li Auto Inc. (LI:NASDAQ, 2015.HK) fell more than 7% after launching its latest electric car, the L6.
Li Auto officially unveiled its new car, the L6, on Thursday, offering two versions, the Pro and Max, priced at 249,800 yuan and 279,800 yuan, respectively.
The Li L6, a five-seat mid-size range-extended SUV, is positioned slightly below Li Auto's flagship five-seat SUV, the L7, which began deliveries last March.
And the new vehicle is also Li Auto's only model under 300,000 yuan and less than five meters long.
The company said it will make low-volume deliveries of the Li L6 next week, with high-volume deliveries starting in May.
Interestingly, Wang Xing, founder of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan, who also invested in Li Auto, commented on the L6's launch in a post, saying, "I think of all the models Li Auto has launched so far, the L6 will, in all probability, be the one that Li Auto's own employees buy the most."
"I'm sure many of Li Auto employees knew this in their hearts during the design and production of this car," he added.
Wang also explained, "Or maybe the MEGA is kind of like a car built for Li Auto CEO [Li Xiang] himself, and the L6 is the car that Li Auto employees built for themselves."
Li Auto's Hong Kong-listed shares dropped more than 7% on Friday after the launch of the L6.
Morgan Stanley said in a report that there were no surprises in Li Auto's L6 launch, and that its price was not lower than similar products in the Chinese market.
Considering the similar appearance and the price gap of less than 100,000 yuan, the L6 needs to avoid competing with the L7, which starts at 319,800 yuan.
Meanwhile, the L6 will have to face competition from Huawei-backed Wenjie M7, Xpeng G9 (starting at 243,900 yuan), Denza N7 (starting at 239,800 yuan) and other similarly priced products, and grab market share with more cost-effective range-extended models such as Leapmotor.
And the new Wenjie M7 has already surpassed the Li L7 in terms of sales, which has indirectly put more pressure on the Li L6.
The MEGA, the first pure-electric model Li Auto officially launched in early March, has seen sluggish sales after falling into the hearse crisis.
Last month news came out that the company had adjusted its 2024 sales target from 650,000 to 800,000 units to 560,000 to 640,000 units due to weaker-than-expected sales.
After the MEGA's failure, the L7 carries Li Auto's hopes of boosting sales.
