BEIJING – Chinese startup Li Auto sold more cars than Tesla’s China operations in October, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
The startup sold a record 40,422 cars in October, far more than Tesla’s 28,626, data from the association showed on Thursday.
Li Auto also forecast it would continue to deliver cars at a similar pace in the fourth quarter: between 41,700 and 42,600 vehicles a month.
Unlike Tesla’s battery-only models, Li Auto’s vehicles – all SUVs – come with a fuel tank to charge the battery. This helps alleviate consumer concerns about range.
Li Auto plans to start delivering its first battery-only model, the MEGA multi-purpose vehicle, in February 2024. The company says it’s planning three more battery-only vehicles to be launched in the second half of next year.
Li Auto’s cars currently sell for between 319,800 yuan ($43,910) and 459,800 yuan. The Model 3 and Model Y start at lower prices of 259,900 yuan and 263,900 yuan respectively.
It’s unclear whether Li Auto will continue to sell more cars than Tesla. In September, Tesla sold 43,507 cars, while Li Auto sold 36,060, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
China accounts for about a fifth of Tesla’s sales in monetary terms. The US accounts for about 46% of sales, according to a regulatory filing.
Elon Musk’s car company reported its first third-quarter profit and revenue miss since 2019, and the CEO said he was concerned about the impact of high interest rates on people’s ability to buy the car.
Li Auto on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat FactSet estimates.
Unlike many of its local peers, the company has no immediate plans to expand overseas.
However, the startup is looking at driver-assist technology as a way to compete in China’s hot electric car market.
The company plans to more than double the size of its autonomous driving research and development team from about 900 people to more than 2,500 by the end of 2025, President Donghui Ma said on an earnings call Thursday, according to a FactSet transcript.
