Will the new-energy vehicle startup Li Auto follow the global path to success of its fellow Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, as some automotive industry experts believe? It would be good news for the composite materials industry, as Li Auto gives it a prominent place among the lightweight technologies it focuses on.
Since the launch of its first model in November 2019, Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) maker Li Auto has experienced rapid growth, focusing on improving user value across the entire vehicle lifecycle – from design and R&D to manufacturing, sales, and service. The company has become the first Chinese automaker to scale the production of range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs).
Starting with the Li ONE SUV, Li Auto rolled out a series of models, notably the flagship six-seater SUV, Li L9. Targeting wealthy Chinese families, the company’s flagship MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), the Li MEGA, which features a low-drag design and consumes just 15.9 kWh per 100 km, has become a key model in the above-RMB 500,000 (€61,200) new-energy MPV category.
In September 2024, Li Auto achieved record deliveries of around 53,000 vehicles, surpassing traditional luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, thus becoming the top luxury car brand in China. In October 2024, the company celebrated the production of its one-millionth vehicle, a 2024 Li L9 vehicle, at its Changzhou Intelligent Manufacturing Base in Jiangsu province.
Li Auto is seen favourably by some industry analysts, such as Professor Zhu Xican from the School of Automotive Engineering at Tongji University. At the Auto Market Hot Topics+ event organized by Tencent News, he estimated that in 2024, Li Auto has done better than the other two up-and-coming new-energy vehicle startups Xiaopeng and Nio and “is the current winner who managed to avoid big mistakes”.
Self-developed CFRT auto parts
In addition to self-developing core technologies, Li Auto collaborates with partners on key components, digitalization, and intelligent manufacturing. Notably, in November 2024, the company celebrated “China’s first self-developed CFRT auto parts” jointly designed with China’s Freco and Germany’s Röchling. The first CFRT (continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials) auto part recently rolled off the production line at Röchling’s Kunshan factory in Jiangsu province. The rollout of this material highlights the fact that Li Auto, a leader in China’s new-energy vehicle market, has independent formula development and parts design capabilities in the field of CFRT materials.
Due to their high strength and low density, CFRT composite materials are widely used in aerospace, automotive, ships, rail transportation and other fields. Li Auto pioneered the use of CFRT materials in fuel tank bottom guards. Compared with traditional materials, they offer a higher puncture resistance and can provide better protection for the fuel tank.
Guo Qing, the project’s technical leader, specifically mentioned that “due to the independent design of the resin and fibre formula, the material’s puncture resistance exceeded 1000 N/mm for the first time in the industry.” Li Auto announced that this material will be used for its L-series models in 2025 and that the three parties will continue to deepen their cooperation in the field of CFRT materials, aiming to develop advanced material solutions and explore opportunities for application in more car body parts.
At the rollout ceremony, Li Auto’s materials technology director Duan Jichao said: “Li Auto is committed to realizing the “smart + electric energy” dual-energy strategy through innovative materials and advanced parts design, providing users with a safer, more comfortable, more convenient and more refined travel experience. As a world-renowned plastic products manufacturer with a history of more than 200 years, Röchling has been providing customers with high-quality products and solutions based on its rich experience and advanced technology. Freco is a company that focuses on research and development and industrial applications of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. It is also the first domestic composite material supplier with a double-steel-belt-press mass production line. I am convinced that the cooperation with Röchling and Freco will accelerate our technological innovation for the production of additional body parts and meet the needs of Li Auto users for continuously improved products.”
Freco’s general manager Liu Yupeng said: “Thanks to the support of the Li Auto and Röchling teams, we are very happy to participate in this Li Auto project. The materials that are off the assembly line this time were developed by our three companies. They are the result of testing more than 20,000 specimens during 580 days of hard work and 56 series of tests. We will use the experience gained through this cooperation to continue to develop technology in the CFRT field and support Li Auto’s continuous innovation.”
Domestic and international collaborations
Another key partnership was signed in February 2025, when Li Auto and Yanlong Technology, a Chinese R&D, design and manufacturing company that specializes in lightweight automotive parts, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, and announced the establishment of a “joint innovation laboratory”. The aim is to promote innovation and the application of lightweight technologies such as ultra-high-strength steel, lightweight alloys and advanced composite materials in the field of automotive manufacturing, and to deepen innovation in mould design and component manufacturing processes.
At the signing ceremony, Liu Liguo, senior vice president of vehicle electrification at Li Auto, said: “For traditional manufacturing to take the road of innovation, it is necessary to continuously break through the boundaries of technology and deepen industrial chain synergies. Yanlong Technology has been deeply involved in mould development and lightweight technology for the automotive industry for many years and has a deep technical foundation. We should jointly promote the upgrading of the new-energy vehicle industry.”
Since it was established in 2009, Yanlong Technology has deployed eight factories across the country, with three core business sectors: mould design, ultra-high-strength hot forming stamping technology and integrated die casting. As a major supplier of lightweight body integration solutions in China, the company serves mainstream automakers such as NIO, FAW Group, Volkswagen, and BYD. It started with the design of large-scale exterior cover moulds, and gradually expanded to a variety of manufacturing processes such as cold stamping, hot forming stamping, and integrated die-casting, and quickly achieved mass production.
The first co-creation meeting was held after the signing ceremony. The R&D teams of both parties conducted in-depth discussions in key areas such as lightweight technology, development cycle, safety performance improvement and development cost reduction. In the future, the two parties will rely on the joint innovation laboratory to help upgrade the lightweight structure of new-energy vehicles, and provide Li Auto with more competitive mass production solutions.
Indeed, Li Auto aims to significantly scale up its production to realize its international ambitions. That same month, in February 2025, the company opened an R&D centre in Munich, Germany, marking the launch of its global R&D strategy. This new R&D centre is the first overseas R&D centre of the Beijing-based new-energy vehicle company, which has operated R&D centres in Beijing and Shanghai.
The Germany R&D centre will collaborate with Chinese design teams to create localized vehicle designs that embody Future Avant-Garde design languages, shaping the automotive aesthetics of the next era.
Furthermore, the R&D centre will support Li Auto in gaining insights into the European market, developing capabilities aligned with European automotive regulations, and localizing products to better meet customer needs. “Li Auto’s Germany R&D centre is part of our overall overseas strategy and focuses on advanced technology and engineering activities. By attracting top global talents and investing in R&D areas where Europe has regional superiority, such as power semiconductors and styling design, we aim to strengthen our collaboration with the local automotive ecosystem and drive forward electric vehicle technologies together”, says a Li Auto representative.
This text is an excerpt from an article commissioned by JEC Group
