72 hours after the launch of Li Auto's new L9: Repeat purchases from old owners account for the majority, and it still needs to break out of the "family" circle.
Text | Xu Caiyu; Editor | Li Qin
“It's a huge hit. You can't even make an appointment for a test drive,” During the first weekend after the launch of the new Li L9 from May 16th to 17th, the stores were crowded with users coming for test drives.
This extended - range six - seat large SUV, which first appeared in 2022, has released its fourth - generation model. The new Li L9 comes in two versions, Ultra and Livis, with starting prices of 459,800 yuan and 509,800 yuan respectively.
Compared with the previous annual facelift, the update of the new Li L9 this time is more significant:
All models are standard - equipped with a 72.7 kWh battery, with a pure - electric range of up to 420 kilometers and a comprehensive range exceeding 1,600 kilometers. Li Auto's self - developed Mach chip is installed in the vehicle for the first time, with a single - chip computing power of up to 1,280 TOPS. The addition of the steer - by - wire system and rear - wheel steering technology has brought a significant upgrade to the chassis capabilities. The 800V active suspension and EMB electro - mechanical braking system additionally installed in the Livis version are the first implementation of cutting - edge automotive chassis technologies.
While offering top - notch configurations, the actual selling price has been significantly reduced by 50,000 yuan compared to the pre - sale price. The new Li L9's combination of “high - end configuration with price cut” has exceeded market expectations.
After the new car was launched, Li Auto's stores across the country seemed to reproduce the popularity of the first - generation Li L9's launch in 2022.
“This weekend, all test - drive slots for the Li L9 at all stores and all time periods are fully booked,” 36Kr visited the most popular regions for Li Auto's L series, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Store managers of many stores told 36Kr that after the launch of the new Li L9, the stores indeed welcomed another peak in orders.
However, 36Kr noticed that most stores only have one new Li L9 test - drive vehicle. Other brands in the industry invest much more in test - drive vehicles for popular new cars. For example, when the first - generation Xiaomi SU7 was launched, each store was equipped with 5 - 6 test - drive vehicles, and when the second - generation model was launched, some core stores were even equipped with about 10 test - drive vehicles. With limited test - drive vehicle resources, can the long queues at the stores directly mean the successful detonation of the market?
Different from the launch of the first - generation Li L9, Li Auto's sales base has now shifted down to the i6 and L6 models priced between 200,000 and 300,000 yuan. This means that the moat it once built in the high - end market is loosening. (36Kr has reported on Li Auto's sales puzzle, Click to view)
Therefore, this new flagship model is also regarded as Li Auto's comeback battle. The market response to the new Li L9 is not only about contributing to the sales figures but also about whether Li Auto can re - defend its brand ceiling.
On - site at the stores: High repurchase rate among old customers, the Livis version is more attractive
Within 72 hours after the new car was launched, Li Auto's official did not announce the number of orders.
However, the Li Auto APP shows that the delivery cycle of the Livis version has been updated to 6 - 8 weeks. This means that just during the first weekend after the launch, the number of locked orders is equivalent to more than one and a half months of production capacity for this version.
“The Li L series has always been the best - selling in the Guangdong region. This weekend, each core - area store basically received more than 30 orders,” store managers of many stores in the Guangdong region revealed that before the launch of the new model, the stores had not received any new orders for the Li L9 for several consecutive weeks.
36Kr also learned from the industry that as of May 17th, the number of locked orders for the Li L9 nationwide has exceeded 6,500. “The supply chain has also received requests to increase production and expedite deliveries.”
Many salespeople told 36Kr that the order conversion rate after the price was announced exceeded expectations. “We didn't stop contacting sales leads in the week before the new car was launched. The pre - sale price of 559,800 yuan actually discouraged many customers, and we were under a lot of pressure,” a salesperson admitted. “After the final price was announced, the inquiries and orders increased significantly. We finally breathed a sigh of relief.”
However, at the company level, the atmosphere is more sober. A person close to Li Auto told 36Kr that the current number of locked orders “is far from the point of celebration.” The real expectation within the company is to make the Li L9 return to the peak state in 2023 when it had monthly sales of over 10,000 for several consecutive months. “The current number of locked orders is not enough to claim credit.”
In addition, 36Kr's on - site visits found that in the order structure of the new Li L9, one phenomenon is particularly prominent: not only does the Livis version, the top - end model, account for more than 70% of the orders, but the repurchase ratio of old car owners among all orders is also as high as nearly 70%.
This is not a coincidence. “We started systematically inviting owners of the Li ONE and the first - generation Li L9 a week in advance,” many store managers told 36Kr. “The test - drive vehicles this weekend were almost fully booked by these pre - invited old car owners.”
The attractive trade - in benefits are the direct driving force for old customers to make decisions. Many salespeople said that Li ONE owners can enjoy a discount of 55,000 yuan when trading in for a new car, and the actual landing price of the Livis version is about 470,000 yuan. “Old car owners have a high degree of brand trust, and the proportion of those who place orders directly after a test drive is particularly high.”
Both the transaction unit price and the user profile show that the Livis version is effectively driving the brand upwards. However, many front - line salespeople revealed a deeper insight to 36Kr: the decision - making logic of the owners who choose the top - end model is different from the conventional perception.
“These early customers are our ‘pandas’ and have been carefully maintained,” a salesperson said. “They choose the Livis version more out of deep trust in the brand and sufficient budget, rather than comparing the configurations repeatedly. Parameters may not be that important to them.”
Behind the high - loyalty customer group, the new Li L9 is trapped by the “family” label
In 2023, the Li L9 became a sales leader in the high - end market with its precise positioning as a “large six - seat extended - range family SUV.”
This product priced between 400,000 and 500,000 yuan achieved a monthly delivery volume of over 10,000 for several consecutive months, becoming a phenomenon - level model in the segmented market. Starting from the Li L9, a series of subsequent “cloned” models of Li Auto also achieved success one after another. Li Auto once shouted the slogan of “launching and delivering immediately, and increasing the volume immediately after delivery” and set an annual sales target of 700,000 vehicles.
The industry attributes the success of the Li L9 to its outstanding product strength, and many brands have followed and emulated its product concept. Refrigerators, rear - seat entertainment screens, comfortable seats, and spacious central passages have gradually become standard features of six - seat SUVs in the Chinese market, and this segmented market has quickly entered a highly competitive “red - ocean” stage.
Many Li Auto salespeople told 36Kr that during the pre - launch training for the new car, they focused on analyzing the competing models, such as the Wenjie M9, the ZEEKR 9X, and the upcoming NIO ES9.
“These models have different focuses. Li Auto focuses on family cars, Wenjie emphasizes intelligent driving, the ZEEKR 9X has the most prominent business attributes, and NIO has a battery - swapping system. We won't deliberately belittle the competing models when introducing them to customers. Moreover, our customer group is not very interested in models with a strong business style.”
The differences in positioning can also be clearly perceived from the product details. The new - generation Li L9 has added a lighted makeup mirror in the second row and enlarged the area of the small table. These designs are not complex in terms of function but are very suitable for family travel scenarios. Due to the different product positioning and target customer groups, competitors have not made similar investments in such detailed polishing for now.
The in - depth insight into and satisfaction of family scenarios have cultivated a highly loyal user group for Li Auto, which is the core characteristic of a mature high - end brand.
The moat of a mature automotive brand lies not only in the product itself but also in whether it can make users continuously choose and actively recommend it. This loyalty does not depend on product parameters but more on the deep fit of emotional connection and overall experience. High loyalty means that the brand can achieve growth with lower customer - acquisition costs and maintain stable business resilience in market fluctuations.
This also explains why brands like Toyota and BMW can still maintain a considerable sales base even when their sales decline. Loyal users are their solid foundation to weather the cycle.
For Li Auto, high loyalty is directly reflected in users' repurchase behavior. Customers who trade in their Li ONE for the new Li L9 are still likely to choose the Li Auto brand in the future.
36Kr observed during on - site visits to the stores that NIO's repurchase rate is not as obvious. Among the orders for new NIO models such as the new ES8 and the new ES9, the proportion of first - time NIO buyers is quite high. NIO's new cars are still in the stage of product - strength competition.
Many front - line salespeople told 36Kr that even old car owners place orders more cautiously. “We rarely encounter customers who blindly place orders without seeing the real car. Usually, we make suggestions, and then the customers invite their whole family to come and have a look and a test drive. Whether the deal can be made depends on whether the whole family approves of the new Li L9.”
This brings another concern. Although the new Li L9 has undergone a comprehensive technological innovation, including upgrades to core systems such as the chassis, suspension, steering, and braking, the Li L9 is still firmly anchored in the perception of a “family flagship SUV.”
A salesperson from a ZEEKR store told 36Kr: “Many customers who come to look at the ZEEKR 9X have never considered or experienced Li Auto. They need this car as a business status symbol.”
Through the new Li L9, Li Auto's ability to refine family products and user word - of - mouth have been verified again. However, Li Auto's ambition is not limited to this. The upward exploration of the new Li L9 in both price and the breadth of cutting - edge technologies has clearly revealed a larger blueprint for the upward development of the Li Auto brand.
However, the annual sales ceiling for models in the 500,000 - yuan range in the Chinese market is only in the hundreds of thousands. More importantly, in this high - end market, family demand is just one aspect. It also has strict requirements for brand accumulation, business socializing, and circle influence.
Now, this segmented battlefield is no longer the situation in 2023 when Li Auto dominated. At least three or four players have firmly grasped their unique positions and are sharing the market increment and stock with Li Auto.
How to attract users who have never considered Li Auto because of the “dad - car” label to enter the stores, how to convince consumers that Li Auto's product strength has entered the era of intelligence and chassis technology, and how to convince high - end users that Li Auto can also handle business scenarios and personal value expression with ease. These are the real challenges for the Li L9.