Supporting Team China: Xiaomi's billionaire founder snubs German luxury brands, buys Li Auto's L6
Hans · May 2, 2024 04:35 PM
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Lei Jun (right) places an online order for his L6 with a Xiaomi sales person
Xiaomi’s CEO and founder Lei Jun has placed an order for Li Auto’s latest model, the Li L6, at the ongoing Beijing International Auto Show.
A superstar in China’s business circle, Lei Jun is seen as the combination of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.
Like Musk, Lei Jun is active on X, for the benefit of his followers outside of China, where his Weibo account takes precedence.
“Placed my order - I'll be an owner of a Li L6 in this stunning green! It's interesting to note the Li Auto sales team's preference for Xiaomi phones too,” Lei posted on his X account, with a photo taken from a Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
Placed my order - I'll be a owner of a Li L6 in this stunning green! It's interesting to note the Li Auto sales team's preference for Xiaomi phones too.😎 https://t.co/v8ndXH63iHpic.twitter.com/aiJVU9AqOI
Li Auto’s CEO and founder Li Xiang, together with Great Wall Motor’s (GWM) Chairman Wei Jianjun were among the special guests present during the launch of the Xiaomi SU7.
Together with Nio’s William Li, XPeng’s He Xiaopeng, and BAIC’s new Chairman Zhang Jianyong, they form ‘Team China’ – a loose alliance of Chinese auto manufacturers that have been actively promoting each other’s products, with the implicit goal of uniting to stand up against the all-conquering BYD.
From right: Li Auto’s Li Xiang, XPeng’s He Xiaopeng, Nio’s William Li (Li Bin), GWM’s Wei Jianjun, BAIC’s Zhang Jianyong.
Xiaomi’s Lei had previously taken delivery of a Tank 700, a 5-seater Toyota 4-Runner-like plug-in hybrid SUV, while GWM’s Wei was given a Xiaomi SU7 from Lei.
Now, it’s time to show support for the alliance’s other members like Li Auto. Founded by Li Xiang (which is also how Li Auto is known as in Chinese) in 2015, the 9-year old car company is the only other profitable Chinese electric car company, apart from BYD.
Like BYD, Li Auto doesn't rely fully on battery EVs (BEVs). All Li Auto models except the Li Mega BEV minivan are extended range electric vehicles (EREVs). EREVs are basically plug-in hybrids with bigger batteries, and its combustion engine is used only as a backup generator.
EREVs, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are considered as one and the same in China. All are referred to as electric vehicles, specifically New Energy Vehicles, or NEVs.
The Li L6 is a 5-seater EREV with a 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder 'generator-only' engine. It has a 36.8 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery – a first for Li Auto. Paired with a 1.5-litre turbocharged combustion engine, it has a range of 1,390 km (CLTC).
Lei Jun also posted a short video of GWM’s Wei Jianjun giving him a tour of GWM’s booth at the Beijing motor show.
A pleasure to meet with Mr. Wei at the Beijing Auto Show and exchange ideas, where I learned from GWM's expertise while sharing some of Xiaomi EV's technological advancements. pic.twitter.com/4zmN32WuNR
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
