SHANGHAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Li Auto (2015.HK) said on Friday it will start mass production and delivery of its first pure electric car in February, as the up and coming Chinese automaker bets on fast charging technologies to solve range anxiety for EV users.
The MEGA multi-purpose vehicle, with a waterdrop-shaped front design, is equipped with a 800-volt charging architecture and CATL’s latest Qilin batteries that would enable a driving range of 500 km (310 miles) on a 12-minute charge, the company said.
Li Auto, which started taking pre-orders in China for the new model estimated to be priced under 600,000 yuan ($82,826.02), also touted a low air resistance against the car’s motion with its streaming design, which helps to lower the energy consumption and extends the driving range.
The MEGA MPV will also be the first model to be produced at Li Auto’s Beijing plant with a designed capacity of 100,000 units annually.
Founded in 2015, Li Auto has been offering four extended range hybrid SUVs targeting family users.
The company posted net income of 2.82 billion yuan ($389.15 million) in the third quarter and revenue of 34.68 billion yuan.
($1 = 7.2441 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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