Li Auto's 2025 Net Profit Plummets 85.8% Despite Strong EV Sales

Li Auto’s full-year net profit for 2025 plummeted to RMB 1.1 billion, a sharp 85.8% decline from RMB 8 billion in 2024. In the fourth quarter alone, net profit dropped to just RMB 20.2 million, down 99.4% year-over-year. The steep earnings decline was primarily driven by aggressive expansion in prime commercial districts during 2024 to pursue an 800,000-unit annual sales target, which caused selling and administrative expenses to surge to RMB 12.2 billion. However, 2025 sales fell short of expectations, with average annual sales per store dropping from approximately 1,000 units to 750 units. Despite these challenges, Li Auto’s pure electric vehicle (BEV) segment has shown significant progress: orders for the i8 model in March surged 180% compared to January, its Net Promoter Score (NPS) rose by over 20 percentage points, and it now ranks first among large SUVs. The i6 model has passed its production ramp-up phase and can now deliver up to 20,000 units per month. The i9 is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2026. R&D investment reached RMB 11.3 billion in 2025 and is expected to increase to RMB 12 billion in 2026, with half of this budget allocated to AI-related projects.