Li Auto has once again addressed its self-developed battery initiative: any manufacturer can produce the battery cells, on the premise that full data connectivity is established.
Launching self-developed batteries on vehicles is one of the core strategies of Li Auto this year.
In June this year, when Li Auto first publicly responded to various doubts from the industry about its self-developed batteries, public opinion was still focused on why it chose self-development and whether the batteries were reliable. Recently, Li Auto held another communication meeting on self-developed batteries. But this time, the voices of doubt have gradually weakened, replaced by discussions on how vehicle enterprises' self-development will restructure the battery supply chain.
During the 2-hour communication meeting, three senior executives of Li Auto—Ma Donghui, Co-founder of Li Auto, Liu Liguo, Senior Vice President of Whole Vehicle Electric R&D of Li Auto, and Liu Zhimin, Head of Battery R&D, made clear statements at least three times: they welcome cooperation with any battery manufacturer, but the premise is that the cooperation must be incorporated into Li Auto's self-developed battery system, which means crossing the threshold of Li Auto's technical standards and realizing deep interconnection of data and definition.
Since the beginning of this year, Li Auto has fully equipped self-developed batteries starting from the new-generation L8. After that, self-developed batteries have been successively installed on flagship electric products such as MEGA and i9. This move directly led to Li Auto exiting the list of top five customers of CATL in August.
Prior to that, the vast majority of Li Auto's power battery supplies came from CATL, which had long been a core customer of CATL, while Sunwoda was introduced as the second battery supplier. 36Kr once reported that Sunwoda's supply share for Li Auto was only about 30% at its peak.
It is precisely by firmly occupying a large supply share among leading customers that CATL has long maintained a market share of over 40%. The full launch of Li Auto's self-developed batteries on vehicles means that CATL's supply position at this automaker is about to be shaken.
According to the definition of Li Auto's self-developed batteries, Li Auto takes the lead in designing and developing cells, while battery manufacturers such as Sunwoda and CALB are responsible for OEM production of cells. At the battery pack level, BMS, thermal management and even insulating materials are also independently developed, designed and produced by Li Auto. Judging from the current cooperation list of Li Auto's self-developed batteries, CATL is no longer included.
Ma Donghui told media including 36Kr that the self-developed battery strategy has been the core strategy of Li Auto, and there will be no backup cooperation mode.
Liu Liguo, head of whole vehicle R&D of Li Auto, also added that in the future, no matter which supplier it is, customized development must be carried out in accordance with Li Auto's self-developed battery system, "No matter the price is high or low, our requirements must be met."
This is undoubtedly a systematic challenge for CATL to re-enter Li Auto's battery supply. For a long time, CATL's product in the high-end market has been Qilin Battery, which is a systematic integrated battery solution. From cells to the whole pack, as well as core sub-components such as thermal protection, all are integrated and supplied by CATL. Out of considerations such as protecting technical patents, CATL has never had a precedent for supplying Qilin Battery in separate parts, nor has it opened up too much battery production data to automakers.
Obviously, this is in conflict with Li Auto's strategy under its self-developed system, which takes the lead in cell R&D, self-produces battery packs, and shares full-process battery production data.
If CATL wants to re-enter Li Auto's battery cooperation system, it not only needs to share underlying data, but also open up the battery system and accept the cooperation mode of only selling cells. For the battery leader whose market value once approached 2 trillion yuan, this is obviously a huge reshaping of its business model.
From a strategic perspective, Li Auto's determination to implement the self-developed battery strategy is firm enough.
When talking about the value of the self-developed battery strategy, Ma Donghui clearly stated that Li Auto is the first responsible party for whole vehicle safety. If it is difficult to obtain relevant data of the battery production process, it will not be able to fully control the full-chain information of the battery, this core component.
Under the self-developed battery mode, Li Auto can realize the interconnection of data and capabilities at three levels.
First, data interconnection between automakers and battery manufacturers enables earlier warning of battery safety; second, self-produced battery packs can make the cooperation among cells, thermal management, electric drive and energy replenishment more tacit, and the whole vehicle experience more refined; finally, after-sales standards are connected, so users no longer need to negotiate separately with battery manufacturers and automakers, and Li Auto takes full responsibility for the battery.
Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, once revealed that the self-developed battery strategy started in 2020. At present, Li Auto's self-developed battery team has more than 300 people. Over the past six years, Li Auto's annual battery R&D expenses have exceeded 200 million yuan, and the total cumulative investment has reached more than one billion yuan so far, which does not include investment in fixed assets such as laboratories.
In addition, Li Auto has also deeply bound its battery partner Sunwoda through capital shareholding. As early as 2022, Li Auto invested in Sunwoda, "but at that time, everyone didn't pay so much attention to it." After the additional capital injection this year, Li Auto has become the second largest shareholder of Sunwoda.
Liu Liguo said that since 2022, the batteries jointly developed by Li Auto and Sunwoda in depth have been put into vehicles for delivery, and the current ownership has reached 420,000 units. "The overall after-sales quality performance is no weaker than the products of any battery supplier. For the current products, I think there is no gap at all." This also provides confidence for Li Auto to fully promote self-developed batteries on vehicles.
Liu Zhimin, head of battery R&D, further revealed that through the R&D, control standards and AI algorithm detection system, the defect outflow rate of Li Auto's cell manufacturing has reached the PPB (parts per billion) level.
Nowadays, not only Li Auto, but also Xiaomi and HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility of Huawei are respectively promoting battery brands dominated by automakers such as Longjia Battery and Giant Whale Battery. Leapmotor even realized independent battery manufacturing through joint ventures.
On the one hand, automakers have the demand to deeply participate in and master the full-stack battery technology; on the other hand, CATL is implementing a brand strategy to obtain high premium. The collision and coordination of these two strategic propositions will obviously be a long-term issue for the industry to face.
The following is the dialogue between media including 36Kr and the three senior executives of Li Auto, which has been edited on the premise of not changing the original meaning:
Strategy: Only use self-developed batteries in the future with an open attitude towards cooperation
Q: Why does Li Auto want to develop batteries independently? What is its core value?
Ma Donghui: Li Auto established the plan to develop a pure electric platform independently in 2020. We believe that what new energy vehicle users pay attention to is not the battery brand, but the actual capabilities behind the brand, such as battery safety, range, energy replenishment, etc. The purpose of self-development is to systematically solve these problems.
First, self-development can connect the full-link data among components, whole vehicles and users. We can grasp the usage status and life trend of the battery in advance; if there is an abnormality in the parameters during the production process, we can issue an early warning. The ideal state is to complete the troubleshooting before the battery is installed and delivered, rather than discovering hidden dangers after it is in the hands of users.
Second, the battery on the vehicle does not exist independently. It is closely related to the thermal management system, electric drive system, and charging and energy replenishment system. Only by designing it as a whole can we truly optimize the whole vehicle experience. We believe that in the future, the design of smart electric vehicles should not regard batteries, electric drives and thermal management as isolated modules, and the distribution and collaboration methods of various functions will undergo profound changes.
Third, connect the product definition, service standards and after-sales service system. There are still some pain points in after-sales maintenance in the current industry. The judgment standards of automakers, users and battery companies for problems such as range attenuation may be different. When a quality problem occurs, is it a problem at the integration level, a problem with the cell, a problem with the PACK, or a problem with the software? Self-development means that if the quality standard is not met, users do not need to care about which link the problem occurs in, and Li Auto will take full responsibility.
Q: What is Li Auto's strategic goal in battery self-development? How big is the gap between Li Auto and CATL at present?
Liu Liguo: Li Auto's investment in batteries is highly focused.
In comparison, other battery companies need to lay out multiple systems such as energy storage and sodium batteries at the same time, and also meet the product needs of different customers at 2C, 4C, 5C and higher rates, with a very large product line and very large investment. However, we only focus on the 5C ultra-fast charging category, which is the premise for us to deepen our technology.
At the same time, in the whole R&D process, not only the battery team is investing: the material side focuses on the R&D of positive and negative electrodes, the PACK level includes issues such as heat dissipation, and the whole vehicle material department and thermal management department provide collaborative support.
In terms of investment in a single product, we are no weaker than any company.
When it comes to actual products, previously, our self-defined products have been launched on the market starting from the first-generation Li Auto L8 and L7 through the OEM mode of Sunwoda, with a market ownership of 420,000 units. The overall after-sales quality performance is no weaker than the products of any battery supplier. For the current products, I think there is no gap at all.
But in terms of cutting-edge technologies for the future, such as the R&D capability of solid-state batteries, we do have a relatively large gap with CATL, which we frankly admit.
CATL is positioned to lead the whole track, while our current strategy is still based on product experience. The two have different strategies, different investment magnitudes, and naturally different technology accumulations. However, for the current products, with our past R&D accumulation and delivery verification of 420,000 vehicles, our performance is no weaker than theirs at all.
Q: Now many automakers are launching self-developed batteries on vehicles, but almost no one has answered a question: What on earth is the strategic positioning of the self-developed battery strategy? Is it a backup plan or the only route in the future? If this self-development + OEM mode is further promoted in the future, will all battery manufacturers including CATL be included? Or even if CATL cuts prices, will it be an independent and parallel route?
Ma Donghui: I don't know much about the thinking of other automakers, but the direction of Li Auto is very firm. Starting from the new generation Li Auto L8, all vehicles will be equipped with Li Auto's self-developed batteries. This strategic direction is very certain, it is not a backup plan, and we are confident that the comprehensive performance of self-developed batteries will definitely be better than before.
Now we have the technical conditions and self-produced PACK production lines. In addition, as the company has developed to today, the overall investment volume can also support the achievement of this strategy. So for us, this is a clear strategic choice, and there is no such thing as a backup.
Liu Liguo: From the perspective of PACK, it has a very strong integration relationship with the whole vehicle. Self-development can make the whole PACK design realize good platformization on the whole vehicle platform. On the premise of unified PACK, we will put forward customized requirements for cells.
In the future, no matter which supplier it is, customized development must be carried out in accordance with our system and our size standards. No matter the price is high or low, our requirements must be met. If the three interconnection requirements can be met, we are of course very open to welcoming every excellent partner in the industry to cooperate together.
Q: Li Auto still lags behind CATL and BYD in scale. Without the same scale, how can self-developed batteries form advantages in cost and quality?
Ma Donghui: Regarding scale and cost, I would like to first talk about our understanding of cost. The cost of batteries mainly includes five parts: production line amortization, manufacturing expenses, raw materials, logistics and warehousing, and R&D investment. Li Auto's self-development is not to suppress the price of a certain link, let alone replace it with cheaper materials, which is not in line with Li Auto's values. The cost reduction opportunity we see is to improve the efficiency of the whole link on the premise of ensuring performance and quality.
The first is production line investment and allocation: For example, 1 billion yuan is spent to build a production line, which is depreciated and allocated over several years. We reuse the production line as much as possible through cell platformization. The utilization rate of the production line is improved, and the amortization of a single product will be reduced.
The second is manufacturing expenses: Li Auto has a smart industrial team and the Li Auto Lianshan System, which can monitor the production process and analyze data. On the one hand, it does quality warning, on the other hand, it identifies waste in the manufacturing process and improves the yield.
The third is raw materials: In the past, when raw material prices fluctuated, we mostly accepted passively. After self-development & self-production and self-development & OEM, we can be more active in upstream materials and related risk management, and improve our management capabilities for cost fluctuations and supply stability.
The fourth is logistics, warehousing and transportation: A unified battery system can make warehousing, packaging, tooling and transportation more efficient, and reduce the waste caused by repeated storage and transportation.
The fifth is R&D investment: R&D investment will eventually be reflected in the cost. In the past, the supplier undertook the R&D, and the cost was reflected in the procurement price; now Li Auto undertakes the R&D investment, and the partners focus on manufacturing and technology, so the division of labor in the whole link will be clearer.
The goal of self-development is to reduce waste and improve efficiency in each link without compromising performance, quality and safety.
Q: How does Li Auto plan the cell platformization?
Liu Zhimin: At the cell level, we currently have two types of solutions: 5C ternary lithium and 5C lithium iron phosphate, with a maximum of two cells for each category.
Q: Some external reports say that Li Auto has only invested about 500 million yuan in battery R&D in the past five years. What is the actual cumulative investment?
Liu Zhimin: I would also like to make a clarification on the R&D expenses. The 500 million yuan mentioned externally is only part of the R&D expenses such as laboratory feeding, testing and verification. Li Auto's annual battery R&D expenses are all above 200 million yuan, and the cumulative investment in the past six years has reached more than one billion yuan. In addition, there are related investments in fixed assets, and the overall R&D investment scale is relatively large.
Q: Some materials say that as of the beginning of 2026, Sunwoda's electrochemical R&D team has about 10,000 people, CATL's related engineers exceed 30,000, and Li Auto's battery R&D team has about 300 people. How do you view the difference in the scale of R&D personnel between whole vehicle enterprises and power battery enterprises?
Liu Liguo: The scale of personnel is highly related to the business volume and R&D scope of the enterprise. A power battery enterprise may serve multiple whole vehicle enterprises at the same time, and also cover energy storage, different material systems and platform technologies, so it naturally invests more manpower.
For a whole vehicle enterprise, what is more important is not the absolute number of R&D personnel, but the R&D depth, focus direction, and whether it has clear user and product goals.
Q: BMW also adopts the battery self-development + OEM mode, but it has high consumer acceptance. How do Chinese enterprises deal with the cognitive challenge of "de-branding" in the process of promoting self-development of core components?
Liu Liguo: There are many reasons behind this, including factors such as brand historical heritage and market cognitive foundation. For new power enterprises, they were established for a relatively short time, which objectively does have a certain impact.
But let me give a specific example: Li Auto began to define the charging rate requirements of the pure electric platform in 2018 and 2019. At that time, when communicating with battery manufacturers, the industry generally believed that 2C was enough, and the leading suppliers all told us that 4C was impossible to achieve, but we had already put forward the goal of exceeding 4C.
Against this background, Li Auto took the lead in developing the early demo products, verified the feasibility of the whole technical route, and then promoted the continuous advancement of the 5C route. From starting self