Li Auto's first all-electric model will go into production at its Beijing plant, with an annual capacity of 100,000 all-electric vehicles in the first phase.
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(A rendering of Li Auto's factory posted on Weibo by Beijing Shunyi district authorities.)
Li Auto's (NASDAQ: LI) plant in Beijing, where it is headquartered, is expected to be operational by September to produce its first all-electric model.
Li Auto's manufacturing site in Beijing -- built on the site of the original Hyundai No. 1 plant -- is expected to see its first vehicle roll off the line by September of this year, according to an article published yesterday by a WeChat account owned by local media outlet Beijing Daily.
The article said Beijing officials toured the factories of automakers including BAIC and Li Auto in the city's Shunyi district on March 14.
Yin Li, party chief of Beijing, checked out the construction of Li Auto's Beijing plant and the current operation of its pilot production center, according to the report.
He asked Beijing government authorities to support Li Auto's development in the city by providing smooth services and helping the company resolve difficulties.
Yi said he hoped Li Auto would stay rooted in Beijing and accelerate the start-up of projects under construction, according to the report.
Li Auto's current vehicles -- the Li L7, Li L8 and Li L9 -- are all extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), all produced at its plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in eastern China.
On October 16, 2021, an announcement from Beijing's Shunyi District government said that Li Auto had officially started construction of its manufacturing site in the district, with production scheduled to begin by the end of 2023.
Upon reaching production, the plant will achieve an annual capacity of 100,000 units of pure-play electric vehicles, the announcement said.
The plant was originally Hyundai's No. 1 factory, but production had been halted since April 2019.
A Beijing Daily report at the time cited officials from the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission as saying that Li Auto had utilized 60 percent of the plant's original resources, maximizing the existing stock of plant resources.
On March 14, the Shunyi district government said in a post on its official Weibo account that Li Auto's factory in Beijing would be reviewed for production qualifications in the near future.
Li Auto's first all-electric model will go into production at the plant, with an annual capacity of 100,000 all-electric vehicles in the first phase, according to the post.
Li Auto's official Weibo account, which reposted the post, added that the second phase of the Li Auto industrial park, its R&D office center here, is also under construction.
The company's first all-electric model is expected to be an MPV.
In terms of product form, an SUV with extended-range technology would be a more appropriate choice. Li Auto's future pure electric models will bring a product completely different from any form currently on the market and will not have an impact on existing products, Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto, said on Weibo in June last year.
In July last year, a model suspected to be Li Auto's MPV was seen appearing in front of Li Auto's Beijing R&D headquarters.
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