Li Xiang.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of China’s Richest 2023. See the full list here.
Li Xiang, founder of Li Auto, has carved out a niche in China’s hugely competitive EV market with a range of family-friendly hybrid SUVs. Robust demand for the cars led to its share price more than doubling on the Nasdaq in the past year, returning the 42-year-old to the ranks of China’s 100 richest after a two-year hiatus. Li is at No. 34 with a net worth of $7.4 billion.
Li Auto’s extended-range electric vehicles, which include a gas-powered engine that charges the battery on the go, can travel 175 kilometers on a single charge and up to 1,100 kilometers with gas-generated electric power. Built with extra interior space for longer family trips, the lineup includes the Li L9, a six-seat flagship SUV (which comes with a small refrigerator), the six-seat Li L8, and the five-seat Li L7, all priced between $43,000 and $63,000. “The design suits Chinese consumers’ preferences,” says Yale Zhang, Shanghai-based managing director at consultancy Automotive Foresight. “This company positions its products very accurately in the market.”
In September, Li Auto was among China’s top sellers of new energy vehicles, according to the China Passenger Car Association, having delivered over 36,000 cars that month, up threefold year-on-year. In the second quarter, sales more than tripled to $3.9 billion, and the company swung into the black with net income of $319 million, compared with a $95.7 million loss a year earlier. State news outlet China Securities Journal reported Li Auto aims to deliver 1.6 million cars a year by 2025.
An electric vehicle charger on display at a Li Auto showroom in Shanghai.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Making cars wasn’t the first business venture for the low-profile mogul. After secondary school Li launched his own computer and gadget review website called pcpop.com. Spotting an opportunity in the auto market, Li in 2005 founded auto news and service platform Autohome, which got listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. Two years later he left Autohome and started Li Auto, where food-delivery giant Meituan’s founder Wang Xing, at No. 23 with $9.9 billion, is an investor.
Now, Li Auto faces a big test. Recognizing what could be an eventual shift to pure electric vehicles, as technology advances and the build-out of charging facilities help to alleviate range anxiety, Li is scrapping the gas-powered engine in the company’s next model. With a price point above $70,000, the Li Mega MPV is expected to target the luxury segment and launch towards the end of this year. Li Auto also plans to build 3,000 charging stations nationwide over the next two years, with 100 in place at the end of September.
The pure electric vehicle market is extremely crowded and “is a lot more difficult to crack,” says Wang Hanyang, a Shanghai-based analyst at research firm 86Research. “But for Li Auto, the quicker it develops pure electric models, the faster the company completes its transition.