Li Auto is reportedly starting to devise its 100% electrification strategy. However, all of its existing models are famous extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs).
Chinese media outlet CnEVPost reports, citing an image shared in the local auto media outlet community Xchuxing, that Li Auto’s under-construction 800 V charging station is located at a highway service area in China.
Li Auto’s charging station to open this March 2023
The charging station is at the Mayong service area on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Highway. The project overview sign discloses some relevant information, despite being wrapped.
Apparently, it is an HPC (High Power Charging) supercharger, part of Li Auto’s energy service company in Dongguan, Guangdong.
The charging station’s construction began on November 28, 2022, and is scheduled to be done on March 31, 2023, with four charging piles.
All of Li Auto’s existing models are EREVs, primarily PHEVs with a battery range of nearly 200 kilometers longer than conventional PHEVs.
Li Xiang, Li Auto’s founder, chairman, and CEO told a media communication last week that the company will allow two technology paths to develop in parallel. It includes maximizing range extender effectiveness and advancing pure electric vehicle technology.
Li Auto’s product uses the 800 V silicon carbide high-voltage platform. Li said they would supposedly offer a range comparable to regular models with 100 kWh packs and cost roughly the same as EREVs.
“By 2025, we will accumulate 3,000 supercharging stations, and the total cost will be RMB 10 billion ($1.45 billion).”
Li Xiang, Li Auto’s founder, chairman, and CEO
After being spread out over five years, these costs are lower than one might think for a company with annual revenues of RMB 100 billion, CEO Li said.
Li Auto confident of their charging station
China has been encouraging car companies to build supercharging stations in the country since last year. That said, Li Auto is very optimistic about the coverage of supercharging piles along highways, per its CEO.
According to Li, the company’s supercharging stations will be available to other models made on the 800 V platform, guaranteeing that each peer brand can charge efficiently.
“Based on the normal price charged, the supercharger system will certainly not lose money after a smooth operation, and it still depends on its operations as to how much money it will make.”
Li Xiang, Li Auto’s founder, chairman, and CEO
