Tesla’s China rival, Li Auto, was founded by a millennial Chinese entrepreneur named Li Xiang, and now he’s a billionaire – here’s how he got there
Few entrepreneurs have the vision and tenacity of Elon Musk, but Li Xiang’s third business in 20 years – which makes electric cars in China to rival Elon Musk’s Teslas – is proving to be his most successful yet
At the end of July, Li Auto was listed on the Nasdaq exchange for the first time, with shares opening at a higher-than-expected US$11.5, and raising a neat U$1.1 billion for the firm to expand in the world’s biggest car market.
So how did Li do it?
In high school, Li fell in love with the internet and gave up taking the college entrance exam to start his own business, after getting the blessing of his parents. He was just 18.
In 2000, Li launched PCPop.com, a website that provides brand advertising for IT products. However, Li found himself unable to go much further – largely due to his inexperience in running a company – and PCPop was bought out by SeoueMedia.
Then in 2005 he established Autohome, a site for consumers to shop online for cars. By 2008, Autohome became China’s leading online platform for car dealers and consumers with its AI-generated content, comprehensive automobile library and extensive car listings. The company had an impressive 90 per cent market share.
Nevertheless, Li still lacked much of the experience required for the role, and the CEO position was handed to Harvard graduate Qin Zhi. In 2013, Autohome was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market value of US$3 billion.
Two years later, Li resigned from Autohome and started CHJ Automotive, which he later renamed Li Auto. A firm believer in using renewable energy to solve the world’s grave environmental problems, his goal was to come up with a series of exceptional electric vehicles.