Electric vehicle startup Li Auto posted total revenue of RMB 3.58 billion (USD 545.7 million) in the first quarter of 2021, up 319.8% year-on-year and topping earnings estimates, according to the company’s earnings report released on Wednesday.
Li Auto sold 12,579 Li One vehicles in the quarter, more than three times compared to last year, but slightly lower compared to the 14,464 EVs sold in the last quarter of 2020. Vehicles sales generated RMB 3.46 billion (USD 528.7 million) in Q1 for the company.
The firm’s president Kevin Shen said that “the impact of the spring festival and areas still affected with COVID-19 outbreaks” were why the quarter-to-quarter deliveries declined.
The company posted a gross profit of RMB 616.7 million (USD 94.1 million) in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 802.9% from the RMB 68.3 million obtained in Q1 2020, yet 14.9% below the RMB 724.6 million earned in Q4 2020.
The company also registered a net loss of RMB 360 million (USD 54.9 million) in the first three months of 2021, significantly widened from the USD 12 million in Q1 2020.
On Tuesday, Li Auto released a new Li One model with multiple upgrades in its autonomous driving functions, with a starting price of RMB 338,000 (USD 52,520), 36Kr reported.
Along with the new models, Li Auto founder and CEO Li Xiang vowed to push ahead with autonomous driving technology. “Li Auto will first catch up with Tesla and Xpeng in the stage goal of autonomous driving,” he said during the launch event.
The company’s self-driving team currently has 300 people and will expand to 600 staffers by the end of the year, 36Kr reported.
Li Auto’s stock rose 15.5% in afternoon trading on Wednesday.
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This article is part of KrASIA’s “Key Stat” series, where KrASIA picks and presents the most significant figures of the day’s technology and business world.