Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) announced Wednesday that the company would be increasing the price of its Li ONE model from 338,000 yuan to 349,800 yuan ($53,025 to $54,876). The increase comes as the cost of raw materials continues to rise.
Earlier on March 19, Li Xiang, founder and CEO of Li Auto commented on the current price increase trend.
"At present, the car brands that have contracted with battery manufacturers to determine the price increase range of batteries in the second quarter basically announced the price increase immediately," Xiang said. "For those companies that haven't announced price increase, most of them have not reached negotiation with the battery makers. When the discussion is finished, they will immediately increase the price of their products."
"The increase in battery costs in the second quarter was outrageous. War, politics and the pandemic have enabled car buying to appreciate, and the overall price of second-hand cars in the U.S. has increased by 30%," Li added.
Li Auto is one of several EV manufacturers to increase pricing recently. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has seen two price changes in the past weeks. Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) Announced Price increases on Monday.
Li Auto's new pricing will take effect on April 1, 2022.
By Michael Elkins