2023理想汽车市场洞察报告.pdf

Though that’s lower than Li Auto’s own expectations, the impact on the industry was nevertheless significant,

especially on the high-end segment. In Q4 2022, not only was Li Auto one of the leaders in the mid to large SUV

segment, but it also dominated the large SUV segment. Li Auto is like a new beast that has tamed traditional beasts

in the high-end segment like Mercedes, BMW and Audi;

Unlike EV brands such as Tesla, Xpeng and NIO, Li Auto has succeeded via a grassroots style focused on

philosophies such as EREV, 6-seater and nanny daddy target customers that are often neglected by competitors.

Thanks to this tactic Li Auto has become a new dark horse in the high-end segment achieving relatively good

revenues and margins;

Right now, going high-end is a core strategy at many carmakers. Because Li Auto’s high-end strategy has

been relatively well executed, is unique to China and effectively lowered the threshold in challenging traditional

To challenge Li Auto, you must first understand Li Auto. In 2022, Li Auto

users were mostly married middle-aged men with kids

YRI research shows that in 2022, 94.39% of Li Auto buyers were married, 91.15% had kids, 72.64% were middle-

aged and 81.42% were male. Clearly, the so-called “greasy men” portraying the Li Auto user base creates a

delightful contrast with Li Xiang, the graceful founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto;

Why is this buyer base ditching Audi, Mercedes and BMW and instead buying Li Autos? Was it a coincidence or is

that becoming a trend? Was it because Li Auto attached great importance to this target customer group or was it

because Audi, Mercedes and BMW did not take them seriously? Though the go-young strategy of Audi, Mercedes

and BMW has been effective over recent years with average user age all falling below 40, which user base is more

valuable, middle-aged buyers or youth buyers?

In 2022, Li Auto users were mostly Avant Garde middle-aged men who

worked in senior management in high value-added industries like the

internet/IT

produced models of Audi, Mercedes and BMW, which should have been the first to launch models catered to nanny

daddies. Yet as of the end of 2022, over half of Audi, Mercedes and BMW sales in China still come from female

buyers. These three traditional high-end giants are overly dependent on female buyers;

The internet industry embraces creative thinking and challenging spirit, corporate management usually have material

conditions for more experiential consumption. These offer Li Auto a chance to try different things and ask higher

expectations of those that try to imitate. Carmakers should not be bound in their thinking by the Li Auto model.

Besides the nanny daddy opportunity, they should also proactively think about other opportunities for quality middle

-aged male buyers. How many of the successful entrepreneurs like Li Xiang are really nanny daddies? Are their

business use cases being satisfied? If not, will brands like Denza, VOYAH, AITO, WEY, IM, AVATR and ARCFOX

be able to produce a business vehicle for successful entrepreneur Li Xiang?