Tesla, Nio Rival Li Auto Aims To Double Production In 2022

U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto Inc LI aims to double production to about 200,000 electric vehicles a year at its Changzhou plant in the Jiangsu province, cnEVpost reported on Friday, citing a company executive.

What Happened: The Beijing, China-headquartered Li Auto currently has an annual production capacity of 100,000 units in a single shift at Changzhou.

It is also building a manufacturing plant in Beijing's Shunyi District, which is expected to start production by the end of 2023 and add an annual capacity of 100,000 pure-play electric vehicles.

"The Changzhou site is currently producing on double shifts, running at full capacity and seeing 560 vehicles off the line each day," the report noted, citing the executive.

See Also: Li Auto Poses 13% Sequential Drop During Slow-Sales Month But Outdoes Rival Nio In January

Why It Matters: Li Auto, which competes with local rivals Nio Inc NIO and Xpeng Inc XPEV, delivered 90,491 vehicles last year.

In contrast, Nio delivered 91,429 units and Xpeng clocked 98,155 deliveries. Current market leader Tesla Inc TSLA delivered a near million EVs globally last year; it doesn't give a geographical breakdown of the numbers.

Li Auto has previously revealed ambitions to sell 1.6 million units by 2025; the latest development indicates plans for a more aggressive capacity ramp-up.

Price Action: Li Auto shares closed 2.5% lower at $29.4 a share on Thursday.

Photo: Courtesy of Li Auto