Li Auto has sold 8,600 vehicles in its domestic market between September 15 and 21, registration data shared on Chinese social media showed this Tuesday.
Sales of the Beijing-based brand rose 6.6% sequentially, building on the surge in registrations seen in the second week of September.
The company launched its second fully electric model — the Li Auto Li i8 SUV — in late July, at about the same time as its main competitor, Onvo, which debuted the six-seater L90.
Last week, the Li i8 represented 1,139 out of the total vehicles sold by the brand founded and led by Li Xiang.
Its main competitor, the L90, accounted for 2,411 units.
As the company prepares to launch the Li i6 model this Friday (September 26), CEO Li Xiang posted on Weibo on Monday that “there is no such model as ‘Li Auto i7,’” telling users not to “wait for it.”
“I’ve seen everyone discussing how the experience of the Li Auto i6 has exceeded expectations. Many friends are now asking me about the Li Auto i7,” he wrote.
The chief executive added, “Let me respond in one go: there is no such model as ‘Li Auto i7.’ Please don’t wait for it. Thank you for your support!”
Li Auto‘s Legal Departament announced on Monday that Weibo user ‘A5W工’ and the contracted MCN agency were convicted of defaming the company with malicious blog posts.
The account was posting false information regarding the company’s Mega MPV.
The defendants must issue a public apology to Li Auto in 10 days and pay 100,000 yuan ($14,050) in economic damages and 20,000 yuan ($2,800) in attorney’s fees.
Li Auto has claimed that it has been dealing with a smear campaign since July, when it first unveiled the Li i8.
Public disagreements have been brewing between Li Auto and Nio‘s sub-brand Onvo since August, as both companies promote their newly launched six-seat SUVs.
Last month, Li Auto‘s CEO said that the brand is aware of the smear campaign it has been targeted with and knows which “brand” is behind it. However, he did not name any brand.
Fei Shen, a long-time Nio executive and head of its sub-brand Onvo, publicly rejected claims from a Li Auto salesperson that “many” customers had canceled pre-orders for Onvo‘s newly launched L90 SUV in favor of a rival model.
Several heated exchanges between the two brands followed throughout the month.
Last week, a Weibo user warned Nio that “many” Li Auto sales staff were rushing to arrange test drives and then flooding online comment sections with smear campaigns and hostile remarks.
