The ace product leader who dared to "argue" with Li Xiang has left the company.

A personnel change in the product manager position of an automobile company has become the most talked - about news in the automotive circle last night and this morning:

Zhang Xiao, the product leader of Li Auto's i8 model, was reported to have left the company after serving Li Auto for nearly 10 years.

He is not a core senior executive, not a technical leader, nor a well - known figure... Even within Li Auto, Zhang Xiao is not the only model product leader.

However, those familiar with Li Auto know that this product leader is not only a founding member who has been on the front line since the early days of Li Auto's entrepreneurship, but also a star model leader who is known as "understanding products better than Li Xiang" and has created hit models such as the ONE, L9, L8, and L7.

Some even say that he is the one within Li Auto who dares to "bang the table" with Li Xiang.

The i8 leader is reported to have left. Who is he?

According to a report by LatePost Auto, Zhang Xiao will leave Li Auto soon. His position before leaving was President of the Second Product Line of Li Auto.

The so - called "Second Product Line" refers to the adjustment of Li Auto's product department after the storm of the pure - electric MEGA's launch in the middle of last year. The original pure - electric and range - extended divisions were changed into the first, second, and third product lines divided by the average price of models.

The "good start" during the Li Auto ONE era was the 1.0 stage of entrepreneurship. In the 2.0 stage, Li Auto shocked the automotive circle with its strong user insight and product definition ability. The L series promoted long - term high - growth, making Li Auto the first profitable new - energy vehicle startup. It also pioneered the new track of large six - seat family SUVs.

The Second Product Line that Zhang Xiao was in charge of is the core basic market of Li Auto. It focuses on both stabilizing sales and increasing profits. It includes several of Li Auto's most important hit products, such as the Li Auto L7 and L8.

Before the structural adjustment, Zhang Xiao was also deeply involved in the product work of the Li Auto L9. Even earlier, during the Li Auto ONE era, Zhang Xiao was already a core member of the product team.

As of November 2025, Li Auto's official data shows that the cumulative historical sales of the L7, L8, and L9 are 330,000, 250,000, and 280,000 respectively, accounting for more than two - thirds of Li Auto's total sales in the past three years (from 2022 to November 2025, Li Auto's cumulative sales were about 1.3 million).

From this perspective, Zhang Xiao himself is the first promoter of the "refrigerator, color TV, big sofa" strategy that is sweeping the automotive circle.

Some public opinions also believe that Zhang Xiao is one of the most senior model product leaders within Li Auto, and some even think that he "understands products better than Li Xiang" - this comes from a long - circulated story.

The Li Auto L9 became a hit as soon as it was launched. However, since its price is over 400,000 yuan, its potential to drive sales is objectively limited. So, the company naturally planned more entry - level products with the same idea.

The first product to be launched was the L8, a large six - seat SUV but smaller in size than the L9, with the price dropping below 400,000 yuan. It was launched in November 2022 and was a great success.

However, Li Xiang later revealed that until the moment the L8 launch event started, the L7 project had not been finalized. He himself was more inclined to cancel this five - seat model.

Later, Zhang Xiao argued with Li Xiang and managed to ensure the successful launch of the L7 model, which became the main model to continue the "myth" of Li Auto's hit models that year.

During this "argument" process, it is said that Zhang Xiao banged the table with Li Xiang.

Li Xiang himself has never talked about the details of the "table - banging" incident, but he did admit that he "lost the argument" at that time - this is a side reflection of Li Auto's vibrant and high - growth period that year.

Later, regarding the initial difficulties of the MEGA model, Li Xiang also emphasized that an important reason was that the key personnel were sent to build the middle and back - end, and the "young people" in the project were afraid to argue with him and put forward opposing opinions - which led to insufficient user experience and pain - point solutions after the product was launched.

There is no accurate information about the reason for Zhang Xiao's departure. Most people say that he hopes to leave and start his own business, diving into the wave of AI and embodied intelligence.

The pure - electric model i8 is the last product of this mastermind behind Li Auto's hit intelligent electric vehicles.

However, compared with the ONE and L series, this product needs a longer time to be tested and show its value.

How is the Li Auto i8 selling now?

The Li Auto i8, the company's first pure - electric SUV, carries Li Auto's dual expectations for sales and profit growth in the mainstream pure - electric market.

The outside world also hopes to replicate the success of the L8 back then. Unexpectedly, the i8 didn't have a smooth start.

A "thrilling" collision test video with a heavy - duty truck at the launch event quickly pushed this new car into the center of the storm... At that time, Zhang Xiao's speech also caused controversy:

Meanwhile, the product strength of the i8 did not continue the magic of the L series.

It has raised questions in terms of product configuration, pricing, etc. For example, the entry - level Pro version lacks an in - car refrigerator and cannot be equipped with a rear - seat entertainment screen, and the computing power solution is not the high - performance NVIDIA Thor - U... It seems that it is not from the same person who created the competitive edge of the previous Li Auto L series.

The bigger challenge lies in the highly competitive industry. In 2025, the competition faced by the i8 has become obvious.

Internally, the cost of pure - electric models is higher. To keep the price close to that of the range - extended L8, there are differences in configuration, which has led to doubts about the lack of sincerity;

Externally, during the same period, the LeDao L90 and NIO ES8 have maximized their cost - effectiveness in Li Bin's "fight - to - the - death" 2025. In terms of configuration, space, and energy replenishment... the Li Auto i8 does not have a competitive edge on paper. And the deeper - level intelligence, product atmosphere, and experience can only be felt through actual experience.

In the highly competitive Chinese automotive market, it is difficult to take the lead without an advantage in parameters unless the product has its own unique charm.

All these factors prompted the Li Auto i8 to quickly adjust its configuration and price on August 5th, just one week after its launch. The original Pro, Max, and Ultra versions were cancelled, and the original Max version was used as the standard configuration. The price was adjusted from 349,800 yuan to 339,800 yuan, and a platinum - grade audio system worth 10,000 yuan was given as a gift.

This quick adjustment, which the company calls "listening to advice", is actually an implicit admission that there is a gap between the initial product plan and the actual market feedback.

The product life cycle of the i8 has an amazing overlap with that of Li Auto's first pure - electric MEGA - what Li Xiang calls a "slow start but a strong finish":

However, it still takes more time for the i8 to reach Li Xiang's goal of "delivering 10,000 units per month".

Even so, the i8 is still considered by the outside world as a product that shows a high level of innovation and product strength. A bumpy start doesn't mean it can't be the final winner.

After all, a direct reference is that the pure - electric MPV MEGA, which had a "terrible start", has quietly exceeded its sales target at the beginning of the year.

It's just that Zhang Xiao, the leader of the i8, won't be around to see the success.

His last Weibo post stopped on the day when Li Xiang set the goal of "delivering 10,000 units per month" - the last day of September.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Intelligent Vehicle Reference” (ID: AI4Auto), written by Jia Haonan and published by 36Kr with permission.