Delivering in February to Maintain the Core Business Heavy investment in AI tests both growth potential and profitability

On March 1st, Li Auto (02015) announced its delivery data for February 2026. In February, Li Auto delivered 26,421 new vehicles, bringing the total deliveries for the first two months of 2026 to 54,089 vehicles, combining January’s 27,668 units. According to the China Passenger Car Association, retail sales of passenger vehicles nationwide in January totaled 1.544 million units, a decrease of 13.9% year-on-year. Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 596,000 units, down 20.0% year-on-year. The retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the overall domestic passenger car market was 38.6%, a 3 percentage point decline compared to the same period last year. Despite the “late spring cold” in the domestic new energy passenger vehicle market in January, Li Auto demonstrated strong market resilience with stable delivery performance, paving the way for annual sales targets.

As of the end of February 2026, Li Auto’s cumulative deliveries reached 1,594,304 units, surpassing 1.59 million vehicles, with a continuously expanding user base. This achievement is supported by its increasingly完善的渠道与充能网络: currently, Li Auto has 539 retail centers across the country, covering 160 cities; 548 after-sales and authorized service centers, covering 223 cities. Li Auto has deployed 4,054 Li Auto Super Charging Stations nationwide, with 22,447 charging piles, continuously improving充能便利性.

Despite a steady start to the year, Li Auto still faces severe market challenges.

Financial reports show that in the third quarter, Li Auto’s revenue decreased by 36.2% year-on-year, with a net loss of 624 million RMB. In comparison, the net profits for the third quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025 were 2.8 billion RMB and 1.1 billion RMB, respectively.

Industry analysts note that JPMorgan Chase released a research report stating that this year’s Chinese auto market will exhibit a mixed pattern similar to 2018 and 2025: 1) As the overall passenger vehicle market growth slows to negative territory (similar to 2018), the industry may perform relatively weakly throughout the year; 2) However, driven by new model launches, seasonal trends, and changing profit expectations (similar to 2025), market volatility may increase. Whether absolute or relative gains can be achieved ultimately depends on whether corporate profitability can exceed expectations, which will be more challenging amid rising costs.

Market rumors predict that Li Auto has already set a preliminary growth target of about 40% for 2026. With the upcoming launch of the all-new L9 in the second quarter, Li Auto’s “turnaround battle” in 2026 will officially enter a critical phase. In this key period of shifting from rapid growth to high-quality development in the new energy vehicle market, whether this transformation can help achieve growth plans remains a focus of market attention.

UBS states that Li Auto’s current valuation level is attractive. The company’s trading valuation is below 95% of the time since its listing, and net cash accounts for about two-thirds of its market value, reflecting a rather pessimistic market sentiment. With the L9 launch imminent, UBS believes a glimmer of hope is emerging. Due to its high risk-reward profile, UBS reiterates a “Buy” rating.

UBS believes that from now until the official launch in the second quarter, market sentiment is expected to gradually improve, helping to enhance investor visibility for other model updates. The flagship SUV L9 will be refreshed in the second quarter, potentially accelerating growth from a low base in 2025. Despite the challenges of rising raw material costs, the company’s high-end positioning and profit buffers are expected to make it more resilient than most peers. UBS considers now an appropriate time to re-focus on this stock.

Li Auto heavily invests in AI, Li Xiang responds to skepticism: 70% of the time still focused on cars

Li Auto is fully committed to embodied intelligence, with the all-new L9 serving as its first practical platform. In early February, CEO Li Xiang posted to promote the new Li L9 and announced that the L9 would be officially launched in the second quarter of this year. Li Xiang stated, “Many people have asked me over the past two years whether all-in on AI means I no longer focus on cars. On the contrary, we understand that embodied intelligence must be built on a good car to truly create value for users. So, I spend 70% of my time focusing on cars, which helps us better understand how to evolve cars into true robots.” Li Xiang added, “The new Li L9 is not only a good car but also the pioneering embodiment of embodied intelligent robots.”

Huatai Securities released a research report stating that Li Auto aims to become the best-performing company in the embodied intelligence field within the next 3-5 years. The firm believes that organizational efficiency improvements are expected to accelerate technological implementation, and that embodied intelligence through VLA (Vehicle Level Automation) will achieve scene-specific breakthroughs. The synergy of these two factors will become Li Auto’s core competitive advantage in 2026.