Every reporter Sun Lei and every editor Pei Jianru
After half a year, the Weibo of the Legal Department of Li Auto once again "shot".
A few days ago, it was rumored that Li Auto and a dealer in Uzbekistan had signed a contract. In response, the legal department of Li Auto said that the recent online rumors such as "the latest progress of Li Auto's overseas expansion" and "Uzbekistan signing" are all false rumors.
Image source: Sina Weibo
The above rumors originated from several pictures shared by a blogger, which related to the signing of a contract between Li Auto and Uzbekistan for authorized sales, as well as the entry of relevant personnel into Li Auto's Changzhou factory for visits and group photos.
Li Auto said that after verification, the "Uzbekistan Sales Authorization Contract" displayed in some online pictures was not the official act of Li Auto, and the picture was created and disseminated in the name of Li Auto. In addition, Li Auto has not organized or received any factory visits to dealers, and Li Auto has collected relevant evidence and reported the case to the public security authorities as to the description of the alleged visit to the Li Auto factory, and the specific situation needs to wait for the results of the police investigation.
The vehicles were exported overseas in parallel
Although Li Auto has refuted the above rumors, it is a fact that its products have been sold to the Middle East, Russia, Kazakhstan and other places in the form of parallel exports, and Li Auto has started its "going overseas" plan.
The reporter of "Daily Economic News" learned that in July 2023, hundreds of Li Auto's models were exported to Central Asia and the Middle East in parallel.
According to public information, parallel export vehicles are similar to parallel imported vehicles in that they are secondary export or imported vehicles through official channels or authorized dealers of non-car companies, and the trading company purchases the vehicle at the market retail price and registers the license plate.
In fact, if car companies want to carry out authorized exports overseas, they need to do a lot of preliminary work, involving market research, quality and safety, after-sales service, etc., and the investment is very large, while second-hand cars can be exported to areas not covered by the car company's authorization system.
"Li Auto will not authorize any agents and dealers, and will always adhere to the direct sales model. Li Xiang, chairman and CEO of Li Auto, said bluntly that there are no official restrictions on some Li cars being "parallel exported" by private individuals, and there is no special price at the same time.
Image source: Photo by reporter Zhang Jian (data map)
It is understood that the price of models exported to overseas markets in parallel is higher than that of the domestic market. For example, the ideal L9 series, which is priced at about 450,000 yuan in China, once cost nearly one million yuan to buy in some markets in Central Asia.
Based on this, there is a view that obtaining higher vehicle sales profits is the reason why Li Auto chooses to "go overseas".
However, Liu Jie, vice president of Li Auto's product line, said: "Facing 2030, we believe that an excellent Chinese technology company will definitely not only serve Chinese consumers, but also have the ability to serve overseas markets." At present, our strategy is centered on exports, not on building local factories. ”
"The overseas market is very important to us, and what we hope is not to find a few foreign traders to help us do it and make quick money overseas, but to establish our direct sales system in a solid way to serve local consumers. Liu Jie told reporters.
It has a presence in the Middle East
For overseas export business, Li Auto still adopts a direct sales model, establishing a sales network and after-sales service products and infrastructure. The reporter learned that Li Auto has begun to operate in the Middle East and has a local component sales and service team in Dubai.
Shi Qingke, vice president of Great Wall Motors, told reporters: "In today's environment of economic globalization and market diversification, the Middle East has become a popular emerging market for Chinese companies to go overseas, and the Middle East has great potential. ”
"The families in Dubai are relatively large, and we have also visited the local area, and there is indeed a strong demand for medium and large and even large SUV products. In addition, Li Auto's products will be tariffs after export, and the consumption capacity of Dubai in the Middle East is still good. Liu Jie told reporters, "This is actually a small closed loop from 0 to 1." Dubai isn't the best option in every way, but it's always a matter of taking the first step to complete a small closed loop. That's one reason why we chose the Middle East and Dubai. ”
It is worth mentioning that Li Auto's current overseas products are still range extender products, rather than pure electric products. Li Auto revealed on the 2023 earnings call: "In the first half of this year, we plan to establish a dedicated after-sales service network in Central Asia and the Middle East. In the fourth quarter of this year, we will start overseas deliveries, first introducing the Li L9 and Li L7 models locally, and formulating relevant plans based on the local environment and local policies. ”
Image source: Photo by reporter Sun Lei (data map)
"For national and regional markets with very low new energy penetration, the threshold for pure electric products is still relatively high, and it is difficult to expand. For example, in China, it is easy for users to apply for the installation of a home charging pile, as long as the capacitor is enough. However, in those places where the penetration rate of new energy is low, because of all the infrastructure construction, including the use habits of consumers, consumers have different access to social resources and services. Therefore, in a market with a relatively low penetration rate of new energy, extended range products are still a better way to replace fuel vehicles on a large scale. Liu Jie explained.
However, Shi Qingke admitted: "Compared with the long-term accumulation of European, American, Japanese and South Korean auto brands in the Middle East market, Chinese auto brands still have a certain gap in terms of popularity, acceptance and market share, and also face challenges. ”
Liu Jie also said: "Li Auto goes overseas, not only at the retail level, but also attaches great importance to the service of local users. This is a new learning process for Li Auto, which must comply with local laws and regulations and operate in compliance. ”