Li Auto PR Head Yang Jibin Departs After Six Months Amid Company Turmoil and Declining Performance

On December 8, 2024, Yang Jibin, former Head of Public Relations at ByteDance, announced his move to Li Auto. On June 8, 2025, reports emerged that he had already left the company—just six months after joining. Multiple media outlets confirmed the news through internal sources, though Li Auto has not issued any official comment. Yang Jibin spent many years at ByteDance, playing a key role in major PR campaigns including the high-profile “Toutiao vs. Tencent” disputes. He left ByteDance in September 2024 to become an advisor and reportedly engaged with several tech companies afterward. During Yang’s tenure at Li Auto, the company faced multiple public controversies. On July 29, 2025, Li Auto released a crash-test video during the launch event for its new i8 model, showing a collision between the i8 and a heavy-duty truck. The video drew a strong response from Chenglong Trucks (a brand under Dongfeng Liuqi). On July 31, Chenglong stated that the video used its truck without authorization, distorted facts, and constituted infringement. On August 1, Chenglong further asserted that the test scenario significantly deviated from real-world traffic conditions. On August 6, Li Auto, China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), and Dongfeng Liuqi jointly issued a statement calling for industry self-regulation and urging companies to refrain from disparaging comparative marketing tactics, emphasizing a return to technological innovation and product fundamentals. Meanwhile, Li Auto faced mounting business pressures. Its Q3 2025 financial results showed revenue of RMB 27.365 billion, down 36.2% year-over-year, and a net loss of RMB 624 million—ending a streak of 11 consecutive profitable quarters. Vehicle deliveries totaled 93,211 units, a 39.0% year-over-year decline. In Q1 2026, the company reported revenue of RMB 23 billion, down 11.4% year-over-year, with net losses widening to RMB 2.3 billion. Additionally, in April 2025, Li Xiang, founder of Li Auto, publicly accused a Japanese automaker on social media of hiring “black PR armies” to spread false information attacking Li Auto’s products and vowed legal action. Recently, Li Auto released a comparison video testing its new L9 Livis against NIO’s ES9 on a washboard road surface. NIO Vice President Ma Lin questioned the transparency of the test conditions and claimed the results did not align with the vehicles’ actual specifications. Tang Jing, President of Li Auto’s First Product Line, later responded online and referenced comments Yang Jibin had made during a launch event regarding 48V versus 800V technical architectures.