Li Auto to launch five EVs by 2025
Chinese manufacturer Li Auto is entering the all-electric vehicle market. The company, which until now specialised in hybrid models with range extenders (EREV), announced five BEV models by 2025 at the Auto China in Shanghai. All will be based on an 800-volt platform.
For the first of the planned BEV models, Li Auto is relying on extra fast-charging (4C) Qilin batteries from CATL – in other words, the latest generation of CATL’s cell-to-pack technology, first used in the Zeekr 009. 4C means that an 80 kWh battery pack, for example, could be charged with up to 320 kW – in other words, in just 15 minutes.
However, the 80 kWh is only a calculation example on our part; nothing is known yet about the models and their technical data. So far, Li Auto only emphasises the fast-charging capability, a “wide temperature range thermal management system,” and silicon carbide semiconductors in the inverter of the drive system.
However, the batteries (at least in one of the five BEV models) could be somewhat larger. Li Auto also presented its own 800-volt fast-charging station at the fair, which is also designated 4C and supposed to enable charging capacities of 480 kW – at 4C, this would correspond to a battery of 120 kWh. However, this is (as mentioned) just a simple calculation, not a value confirmed by the company.
On the other hand, there are reliable figures for the new fast-charging station: Li Auto plans to install 300 fast-chargers along Chinese motorways this year. By 2025, there are to be 3,000 of them. Each station will have one super-fast 4C charging station and three regular fast-charging stations. Li Auto says this will cover 90 per cent of China’s highway network and major cities.
Li Auto started mass production in November 2019. The model range consists of several SUVs with five, six or seven seats, but so far, all of them still have a combustion engine – be it a hybrid or a range extender. However, the young company has been quite successful: Li Auto delivered 20,832 vehicles in March and 52,584 in the first quarter.
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