The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) announced on Monday that Li Auto officially became a member of the organization and of its Automotive Working Group.
The Beijing-based brand joins Xiaomi, BYD, XPeng, Nio, and several other Chinese carmakers.
CCCEU’s Automotive Working Group was established in early 2025 and is led by Nio Group’s Vice-President Hui Zhang
The Chamber’s President Liu Jiandong congratulated Liu Qiang, head of Li Auto’s German R&D Center, stating that the carmaker “is one of the leading representatives of China’s new-generation automakers.”
“The company’s accession to the Chamber and the Automotive Working Group strengthens the presence of OEM members within the group and enhances its overall capabilities,” the CCCEU said in a statement.
Founded nearly a decade ago and headquartered in Brussels, the CCCEU represents more than 100 members and over 1,000 Chinese-funded enterprises on the Old Continent.
Li Auto was founded in 2015 and became a US-listed company in July 2020.
A year later, the Beijing-headquartered automaker went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board, completing a dual listing.
The company is planning to expand its presence in Europe after having focused on its domestic market in its first decade.
R&D Center in Germany
Li Auto inaugurated its first R&D center overseas in January 2025. The location opened in the German city of Munich, a few miles from BMW‘s headquarters.
According to the CCCEU, the facility has assembled a team of industry experts “specializing in styling design, power semiconductors, chassis systems, electric drive systems, and regulatory certification.”
As of Tuesday, Li Auto has a total of six job openings for its Munich R&D Center.
The roles include Powertrain System Technology Research, Power Module Development, and Electric Motor Technology Research Engineer.
International Expansion
Approached by EV late January, a Li Auto spokesperson stated that the company aims to “deepen its presence in Central Asia” this year, while also “expanding into the Middle East and Europe.”
However, the company did not provide a timeline for its European sales debut.
Despite the EV deal between Canada and China in mid-January, the spokesperson did not mention Canada or North America in its future expansion plans.
Nearly at the end of last year, the brand entered four new markets: Uzbekistan in October — with the opening of its first overseas showroom —, and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Egypt in December.
Specifically in Egypt, the Beijing-based carmaker opened its first two showrooms earlier this month, in partnership with GBAuto.
2026 Sales Target
As reported by the Chinese media outlet 36kr last month, Li Auto aims to sell around 550,000 vehicles globally this year.
The target represents a 35.4% jump from 2025, when the company totalled 406,343 registrations.
