Li Xiang still has three life-saving hairs.

Any leading company in an industry must have experienced at least one "perilous situation". This kind of perilous situation doesn't mean the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, but rather that the methodology that once led to success suddenly stops working, and the path ahead becomes blurred for the first time. Li Auto has now reached such a crossroads.

To understand Li Auto's "perilous situation", we need to look at two sets of the most honest data first.

The first set of data comes from Li Auto's financial report for the second quarter of 2025. The quarterly revenue was 30.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.5%. The net profit was 1.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.4%. This shows that compared with itself when it was making rapid progress last year, Li Auto's profitability is declining. What's even more critical is the cash flow. In the second quarter, the cash used in operating activities was 3 billion yuan, and the free cash flow was -3.8 billion yuan, compared with -1.9 billion yuan in the same period last year, indicating an enlarged loss.

Li Auto delivered 28,529 vehicles in August 2025. Horizontally speaking, the delivery volumes of Leapmotor, XPeng, and NIO all exceeded that of Li Auto this month. Even Xiaomi, which entered the automotive industry as a cross - border player, has a stable monthly delivery of over 30,000 units.

Vertically speaking, in August 2024, Li Auto's delivery volume was 48,122 vehicles. In just one year, the delivery volume decreased by 40%. From exceeding 50,000 units per month at its peak in 2024 to falling below 30,000 units now.

Life is already tough enough, but there are still two tough battles ahead for Li Auto. The first one is in the 5 - door, 6 - seat SUV market. There is the LeDao L90 in front and the Tesla Model Y L behind. Especially Tesla. In the past, the Tesla Model Y was smaller in size than Li Auto's L8 and L9, so there was no need for a head - on confrontation. But now the situation is different. The Model Y L, specially launched for the Chinese market, is also a 5 - door, 6 - seat family car, directly encroaching on Li Auto's territory.

The second tough battle is in the pure - electric vehicle market. If Li Auto can still rely on its past achievements in the 5 - door, 6 - seat segment, it is a complete newcomer in the pure - electric vehicle market. Facing giants like BYD, Chery, and Geely that have long dominated this market, and new forces like NIO and XPeng, which started with pure - electric vehicles and have launched new models, Li Auto's path to break through is destined to be difficult.

What should Li Auto, which has more than 100 billion yuan in cash, do? Where should it start?

There are always more solutions than difficulties. Just as the Monkey King has three life - saving hairs behind his head, there are actually three trump cards in Li Auto's toolbox that can relieve the urgent need.

A

The first life - saving hair that Li Auto needs to pull out is "price". More precisely, it is to temporarily abandon the obsession with high gross profit margins and use lower prices to gain a larger market share.

This applies to the upcoming Li Auto i8, which will be fully launched, and the pure - electric SUV i6, which will be released in September. These two models are excellent weapons for Li Auto to break through downward and open up a second battlefield.

Li Auto should set an aggressive price for the L6 and i6. For example, reduce the price of the L6 to below 200,000 yuan and also price the i6 below 200,000 yuan. This will inevitably sacrifice a portion of the gross profit, but it will bring several crucial strategic advantages.

At the 200,000 - yuan price level, there is currently no extended - range SUV like Li Auto that understands family needs so thoroughly. This is a huge market gap. Instead of competing head - on with Wenjie and others in the red ocean between 200,000 and 350,000 yuan, Li Auto is better off descending a level to explore a new battlefield and using its mature product strength to defeat opponents with vague product definitions.

As for the i8, although Li Auto cannot change the price in the short term, and its sales model is very unified (the official website price is the same as the guiding price without any interfering factors), it can increase sales by offering more benefits.

For example, offer a delivery waiting subsidy. After the delivery date, users will be subsidized with some Li Auto Mall points for each additional day of waiting; provide a lifetime warranty. Since the battery maintenance cost of pure - electric vehicles is high, offering a warranty will greatly increase users' willingness to buy pure - electric models; offer a loan interest rate cut, which is equivalent to a price cut for monthly - payment car owners.

Higher sales mean more user data, which is crucial for the training of intelligent driving models and the analysis of user habits. Currently, Li Auto's cumulative sales are nearly 1.4 million. If it can exceed 2 million, the iteration speed and potential in future intelligent competition will be completely different.

The most important thing is to secure the market first before talking about performance. During the period of rapid industry growth and reshuffle, the priority of market share is higher than short - term profit. Market share is the ticket to the future, and profit can be pursued after the market pattern stabilizes. First, use price to "circle" users in, let them experience Li Auto's products and services, and form word - of - mouth and brand loyalty. As long as users are with you, there are countless possibilities to make money in the future.

So, pulling out this first hair will be painful and will directly affect the profit figures in the financial report. But this is a fundamental move and a necessary choice for survival first and then development.

B

If price adjustment is a tactical adjustment, then the second life - saving hair of Li Auto must lie at the strategic and brand levels. This hair is "marketing". Specifically, the founder Li Xiang himself must appear in public more often to "endorse" Li Auto.

In today's China, building cars is not only a competition in technology and products but also a competition in the personal charm of the founder and the brand's storytelling ability. A flesh - and - blood founder who dares to speak and act can bring brand popularity and user trust that no advertising investment in the tens of millions can buy.

Let's look at some of the most successful examples. Lei Jun of Xiaomi can turn an ordinary T - shirt into a best - seller through a press conference. Tens of thousands of netizens leave "wishes" on his Weibo, asking Xiaomi to produce sanitary napkins. Li Bin of NIO can go to the user - face - to - face event site in person, allowing users to "complain" about various problems with the products and services, and then he calmly responds one by one. The increase in the sales of Xiaomi and NIO cars must be closely related to the number of times the two founders make it to the headlines.

Li Xiang himself has the qualities of an internet celebrity. He is active on social media, with sharp words and distinct views, and is naturally topic - generating. Before the launch of the Li Auto MEGA, Li Xiang was very active on Weibo. He personally explained the product, interacted with users, and even "sparred" with opponents, bringing great attention to Li Auto.

But after the MEGA encountered setbacks, we can feel that Li Xiang has become relatively silent in the public eye. In my opinion, this is a waste of resources. At a critical moment when the company is facing sales pressure and the market has doubts, what is most needed is the voice of the founder.

What Li Xiang should do is to "go all out" and fully stand up for Li Auto's products and brand. The upcoming launch of the i6 should not just be a regular product launch event. Li Xiang can, one month in advance, interpret the product concept of the i6 to the outside world through live broadcasts, short videos, and social media Q&A. He should explain why Li Auto wants to make such a pure - electric SUV, what new pain points of family users it solves, and what trade - offs and considerations are behind its pricing.

He needs to turn the behind - the - scenes product logic into a story to communicate with users on the front stage. When users see a founder introducing a product as if it were his own child, the trust and appeal it brings cannot be replaced by professional managers or marketing directors.

Furthermore, Li Xiang should solidify this personal IP - based marketing method as part of the Li Auto brand. He should, like Lei Jun and Li Bin, become a window through which users can directly "talk". Whether it is a good suggestion for the product or a bad experience with the service, users know that they can directly tell Li Xiang and get a response. This will build an extremely strong brand centripetal force.

So, this second hair tests the founder's determination and attitude. Li Xiang needs to shift more from the role of "CEO Li Xiang" to the role of "Chief Product Officer and Brand Spokesperson Li Xiang". He himself is the most valuable marketing asset of Li Auto.

C

The third life - saving hair for Li Auto is to find a new "product label" for itself.

Li Auto's initial success was largely due to finding an excellent label - "refrigerator, color TV, big sofa". These six words are simple, vivid, and directly hit the core demands of Chinese family users, making the concepts of "comfort" and "family" concrete. For a long time, Li Auto was equivalent to "the family - friendly car that understands families best".

However, the effectiveness of a label has an expiration date. When all competitors in the market start to equip their SUVs with refrigerators, color TVs, and big sofas, this label is no longer Li Auto's unique advantage but has become the "standard configuration" of the entire category. When a label loses its uniqueness, it also loses its meaning as a brand moat.

Therefore, Li Auto urgently needs a new, more attractive, and harder - to - imitate label. This new label should shift from emphasizing "functional comfort" in the past to emphasizing "perceived technology and luxury". Simply put, it should give users the feeling that "for the same amount of money, they can buy the most visible and tangible technological value here".

How can this "value perception" be reflected? It can start from two aspects.

The first aspect is to create a "unique" visual impact in the cockpit. Take the screens as an example. Li Auto's current screen layout is very functional, but it is no longer amazing in terms of form. Look at its competitors in the same price range. The Lincoln Navigator has a through - type surround screen, the Mercedes - Benz EQS has a Hyperscreen over 1.4 meters wide, and the Cadillac Lyriq's 33 - inch curved screen is also very futuristic. These designs can bring a strong visual shock and the psychological suggestion of "this car is very advanced" the moment users open the car door.

Li Auto can learn from this idea and design a more unique screen solution in future models. The key is not to have a larger size but to have innovative forms and integration with the interior. It should create a sense of technology that needs no explanation and make it the most intuitive memory point of the vehicle.

The second aspect is to provide a sense of ceremony of "over - satisfaction" in functional details. Some "unnecessary" functions on many traditional luxury brands are precisely the source of the sense of luxury. For example, the electric interior doors that can be automatically opened and closed with a single button. This function is not a necessity for daily driving, but it provides a calm and noble experience.

For Li Auto's target users, this kind of "over - satisfaction" in details exactly meets their psychological needs to show their taste and distinguish themselves from ordinary family cars. When car owners can show this uncommon function on a car worth hundreds of thousands of yuan to their friends, the psychological satisfaction they get far exceeds the cost of this function itself. Li Auto can study this kind of "ceremony" configuration and apply it to its own products.

In general, the new label is to transform Li Auto from a pure "pragmatist" into an "experience creator" who knows how to create a "technological luxury atmosphere". When users think of Li Auto, what should come to mind is not just the chilled cola in the refrigerator but also the sense of value and satisfaction beyond the same - level products brought by the unique screens and ceremonial functions.

D

The three trump cards mentioned above - price adjustment, founder - led marketing, and label update - are emergency measures for Li Auto to get out of the current dilemma, used for "saving lives". However, a great company cannot rely solely on life - saving measures. To achieve true "long - term stability", it must also make changes at a deeper strategic level.

I believe that Li Auto's long - term strategy should focus on two directions: one is to extend the product line and achieve diversified layout; the other is to reshape the value communication of intelligent driving and build a user trust barrier.

Let's start with the diversification of the product line. Li Auto's current strategy of highly focusing on mid - to - large - sized family SUVs is a double - edged sword. It has contributed to Li Auto's past success, but it may also limit its future. When the market competition becomes fierce, the growth of a single category will inevitably hit the ceiling.

Let's look at its competitors. XPeng Motors has sedans like the P7 and M03, SUVs like the G9, G7, and G6, and the MPV X9. Its product matrix covers multiple mainstream categories and price ranges. The advantage of this diversification is that when one area is not performing well, another can make up for it. It can effectively hedge the risks of a single market and reach a wider user group.

Looking globally, the giants in the consumer electronics industry have also gone through the same path. Samsung has always adopted a product - rich strategy, and its product line covers all markets from high - end to mid - end and low - end. Apple, on the other hand, adhered to the boutique strategy in the early days and only released one iPhone each year. But as the market matured, Apple also had to extend its product line, launched Pro and Pro Max versions, and used the SE series and old models to cover the mid - end market. This change shows that any brand must expand its product line to maintain growth at a certain stage of development.

Li Auto is now at the same strategic juncture as Apple was when it was deciding whether to expand its product line. Sticking to mid - to - large - sized SUVs, although it can continue to deepen its penetration, also means giving up huge incremental markets such as sedans, MPVs, mid - sized, and even compact SUVs to others. Therefore, after stabilizing the situation with the L6 and i6, Li Auto must start to seriously plan to enter more niche markets. This can not only bring new sales growth points but also is the only way to transform Li Auto from a "one - sided student" into an "all - around player".

Now let's talk about the trust barrier for intelligent driving. Li Auto is fully investing in the research and development of the VLA large - scale model. According