Photo/Sun Lei (NBD)

Chinese EV maker Li Auto announced on Thursday that it expects to deliver 76,000 to 78,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, due to fewer-than-expected orders. This is a revision of the company's previous guidance of 100,000 to 103,000 deliveries.

Li Auto CEO Li Xiang issued a letter to employees on March 21, reviewing the problems the company encountered in March: 

1. We mistakenly treated the 0-to-1 phase (commercial validation phase) of Li Auto MEGA as the 1-to-10 phase (high-speed growth phase). Li Auto MEGA and high-voltage all-electric vehicles must go through a 0-to-1 phase similar to Li Auto ONE and range-extended electric vehicles. They cannot have the 1-to-10 operating momentum of the Li Auto L series as soon as they are launched. This is a misjudgment of all pure electric strategy.

2. From top to bottom, we have been too focused on sales volume and competition, which has significantly reduced our user value and operating efficiency, which we were originally best at. The pursuit of desire has turned us into the people we hate.

Li Xiang said the problems in March 2024 are an enhanced version of our problems in 2022. We will seek truth from facts and correct our mistakes. We are confident that through our joint efforts, we will focus on user value, focus on operating efficiency and solve problems through down-to-earth efforts.

Li Auto closed 1.05% higher at HK$135.1 per share. As of press time, Li Auto's pre-market US stock was down over 7%.