On October 14, 2024, the Global Partner Conference for New Energy Vehicles took place in Changzhou. The event included the launch of the one-millionth vehicle by Ideal Auto at its smart manufacturing base. Government leaders attended, including Xu Kunlin, Deputy Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Governor, and Sheng Lei, Deputy Secretary of the Changzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor. Industry experts also participated. Ideal Auto’s strategic partners were present, along with Chairman and CEO Li Xiang, President and Chief Engineer Ma Donghui, and Chief Financial Officer Li Tie. During the ceremony, Jiangsu Province unveiled the New Energy Vehicle Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrade Base. The Changzhou government announced the “Changzhou New Energy Vehicle Full-Scenario Ecological Support Plan.” This plan aims to drive high-quality development in the automotive industry chain. By 2027, Changzhou’s production value for new energy vehicles and components is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan.
Ideal Auto Celebrates One Million Units Offline Changzhou Mayor Sheng Lei said, “Ideal Auto and Changzhou have worked together for eight years. In this time, Ideal has grown into a leading new energy vehicle company with a hundred billion investment and a thousand billion output. Meanwhile, Changzhou has developed into a trillion GDP city with an industrial economy of 2.2 trillion. Together, we have achieved remarkable growth.” Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred Person Meeting, stated, “Congratulations to Ideal Auto for reaching one million units. This marks an important milestone. China leads globally in the new energy vehicle sector. Emerging tech companies like Ideal Auto play a crucial role in this progress.” Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Ideal Auto, said, “We focus on user value and create products that exceed user needs. The support from our users drives our continuous improvement. Ideal Auto collaborates with local quality suppliers to enhance our supply chain and management standards, allowing ‘Ideal Chain’ to grow quickly and healthily. Thank you to all users, partners, and government leaders who have supported our growth. In the future, we will embrace the technological transformation of the smart electric vehicle era, improve product quality and service levels, and enable more families to confidently choose Ideal Auto products.”
Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Li Auto, spoke on-site. He focused on user value and continues to create popular products. Since the launch of its first product in November 2019, Li Auto has rapidly developed over the past five years. The company emphasizes user value across design, R&D, manufacturing, and sales services. Li Auto pioneered the five-screen, three-dimensional interaction product definition in China’s smart electric vehicle market. It became the first Chinese automaker to scale up extended-range electric vehicles. Li Auto has developed a series of popular products that have become the top choice for Chinese families in their respective market segments.
Li Auto’s 1 millionth vehicle, the 2024 Li Auto L9, officially rolled off the production line. The first product, Li ONE, redefined the family SUV, with total deliveries exceeding 210,000 units. The family six-seat flagship SUV, Li L9, also surpassed 210,000 units in deliveries. The family six-seat luxury SUV, Li L8, exceeded 180,000 units, while the family five-seat flagship SUV, Li L7, surpassed 220,000 units. In the market for new energy vehicles priced above 300,000 yuan (42150$), from 2023 to now, Li L7, Li L9, and Li L8 ranked first, second, and third in their segment. The family five-seat luxury SUV, Li L6, launched in April this year, surpassed 110,000 units in deliveries, setting a record for the fastest delivery by a new force. The family tech flagship MPV, Li MEGA, features a low drag design and achieves an ultra-low energy consumption of 15.9 kWh per 100 kilometers. Since its launch, it has become the best-selling new energy MPV priced above 500,000 yuan (70250$). In September, Li Auto’s deliveries reached 53,000 units, setting a new historical high. The domestic market sales surpassed luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi for the first time, securing the top position in the Chinese luxury brand sales. This reshaped the competitive landscape of China’s luxury brand market. Thanks to rapid market expansion and improved operational efficiency, Li Auto became the first new force car company in China to achieve annual revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan. It is also the first new force car company to achieve profitability and the youngest company on the Hurun Global 500 list. After 58 months, Li Auto reached the milestone of 1 million vehicles. It is the first new force car company in China to achieve this feat, setting the record for the fastest luxury car brand to reach 1 million units. It is also the only Chinese luxury car brand with an average price exceeding 300,000 yuan (42150$) and a scale of 1 million units. The rollout of Li Auto’s 1 millionth vehicle marks a milestone for the company and a significant point in the development of smart electric vehicles in China.
Ideal Auto’s entire lineup Focuses on core technology research and development. Leads the “Ideal Chain” to achieve technological breakthroughs. Since last year, Ideal Auto invests 100 million yuan in R&D every three days. It establishes a leading technological advantage in smart driving, smart space, smart electric, and smart industry. This year, Ideal Auto makes significant progress in smart driving. The Ideal autonomous driving technology architecture, end-to-end + VLM system, has begun mass testing. It provides more users with a safer and more convenient driving experience.
Ideal Auto Smart Space Laboratory Ideal Auto focuses on core technology research and development. It collaborates with partners on key components. They work together on research, production, and quality tracking. Ideal Auto embraces open cooperation in digitalization and smart industry. It shares vast data with the supply chain. This ensures full lifecycle traceability of products. It drives quality and performance improvements. As Ideal Auto grows, its partners also expand. Air suspension supplier Konghui, lidar supplier Hesai, smart driving chip supplier Horizon, and HUD supplier Future Black Technology are among over 20 young partners becoming industry leaders. Ideal Auto co-develops the first mass-produced 5C supercharging battery with CATL. It partners with Inovance to create the front-drive five-in-one assembly. This collaboration supports Xinwangda in building and operating battery PACK production lines in Jiangsu. Together, they continuously create user value. They promote technological equality. They drive down costs through localization and scaling, making high-end features standard. Based on technological innovation and collaborative R&D, Li Auto partners with local companies to achieve key breakthroughs. This creates new value for the industry chain. Deep integration of production and city life leads to the official naming of the Changzhou base as “Jiangsu Li Auto.” In 2016, Li Auto established its first smart manufacturing base in Changzhou. The location attracted the company due to its advantages, solid industrial foundation, and excellent business environment. Li Auto actively participated in Changzhou’s goal to become a “trillion-yuan new energy capital.” In the first half of 2024, Li Auto’s output accounted for 35.4% of Jiangsu’s total automotive production, making it the leading new energy vehicle manufacturer in the province. As production scales up, Li Auto promotes a near-sourcing strategy for supply manufacturing. The company attracts external supply chains to establish operations in Jiangsu and Changzhou. Currently, the localization level of the Li Auto L series is nearly 60%. By 2026, the company expects 70% of key components to be sourced locally, further boosting Jiangsu’s automotive industry chain. This year, Li Auto invested 1.6 billion yuan to upgrade the Changzhou base. The company aims for high-quality industrial development. It officially named the base “Jiangsu Li Auto” and restructured its R&D, manufacturing, sales, and parts operations for group-based management. In the future, Ideal Auto will increase its R&D and management staff in Jiangsu. The company will accelerate the construction of the parts industrial park. It will guide the local development of the “Ideal Chain” cluster.