Consecutive Profitable Operations Lay Foundation, Hundreds of Billions in Cash Support, Li Auto's Confidence in Deep AI Layout

On March 12, Li Auto officially released its Q4 and full-year 2025 financial reports. According to key financial data, Li Auto achieved revenue of 28.8 billion yuan in Q4 2025, a 5.2% increase quarter-over-quarter. For the full year of 2025, total revenue reached 112.3 billion yuan, with a net profit of 1.1 billion yuan.

Although extending the timeline to the full year shows some fluctuations in core operating indicators compared to 2024, its overall balance sheet remains highly robust.

One of the most notable figures in the financial report is its ample cash flow. As of December 31, 2025, Li Auto’s cash position—including cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash—reached 101.2 billion yuan. In terms of R&D, Li Auto’s expenses in 2025 increased to 11.3 billion yuan, with 50% allocated to AI-related investments.

High revenue, substantial R&D investment, and abundant cash reserves form the foundation for Li Auto to navigate industry cycles. As CFO Li Tie stated after the earnings release, strong financial reserves are significant, providing the company with sufficient momentum to seize opportunities in embodied intelligence and accelerate global market expansion.

A Turning Point in Competition, Profit Privileges Paving the Way for the Intelligent Era

Entering 2026, the global new energy vehicle industry is undergoing a profound evolution. The core logic of industry development has shifted from early “scale expansion” to “high-quality development.” 2026 marks the beginning of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, and amid intensified technological competition, the level of intelligence has become the definitive dividing line for the future direction of automakers.

With the commercialization of L3 autonomous driving approaching, many institutions predict 2026 as the inaugural year for mass production of L3 in high-speed scenarios. During this phase, vehicle computing power and large model iterations accelerate, and the competition has shifted from individual products to ecosystem-wide capabilities.

Clearly, only companies with solid technological barriers and sustainable profitability can remain undefeated in the second half of the intelligent era.

Looking at the entire industry, Li Auto is one of the few global new energy vehicle brands capable of overall profitability. Comparing key financial metrics, Li Auto’s leading position is evident. For three consecutive years, its revenue has exceeded 100 billion yuan, maintaining its status as a top emerging force.

In terms of profitability, which best reflects a company’s ability to generate internal cash, Li Auto is the only new force automaker to achieve three consecutive years of profit, with a total profit exceeding 20 billion yuan, demonstrating a healthy internal growth cycle.

This healthy financial status grants Li Auto a significant capital advantage. Its cash reserves of 101.2 billion yuan rank first among domestic new energy vehicle startups.

This billion-yuan cash reserve is the strongest backing for Li Auto’s high-intensity R&D investments. Data shows that Li Auto has consistently invested an average of 1 billion yuan per month in R&D over the past three years. In 2025, its R&D expenditure of 11.3 billion yuan remains leading among new entrants. This continuous heavy investment lays an unshakable foundation for all of Li Auto’s strategic plans in the second half of the new energy era.

Targeting Embodied Intelligence, Dual Advances in Technology and Organizational Structure

To build core competitiveness for the next decade, Li Auto is currently in a critical phase of strategic transformation toward embodied intelligence.

On this new track, its long-term investments and technological accumulation support the development of groundbreaking embodied intelligence products and the construction of internal embodied intelligence organizational structures.

First, attention is drawn to the presentation of embodied intelligence technology and products.

In terms of technological foundation, Li Auto has achieved deep integration of hardware and software. The upcoming all-new Li Auto L9 Livis features self-developed Mach 100 automotive-grade 5nm chips, operating systems, base models, and full-control chassis. This global most powerful computing brain offers up to 2560 TOPS of effective computing power. Thanks to high utilization of data flow architecture, a single Mach 100 chip’s effective power is three times that of Nvidia Thor-U, and dual chips provide five to six times the performance, enabling real-world large model deployment with impressive capabilities.

The execution side has also seen disruptive innovations. Li Auto has developed the world’s first “full-body” full-control chassis, including steer-by-wire, four-wheel steering, and the world’s first fully electronic mechanical brake system (EMB). Additionally, it has achieved the first-ever mass-market vehicle under 600,000 yuan equipped with an 800V full-active suspension system, enabling millisecond-level response and “anti-physical” body posture control.

Self-developed chips and models, combined with top-tier chassis suspension, represent the first time in automotive mass production that such a comprehensive embodied intelligence technology base has been realized. These cross-generational breakthroughs form a formidable and hard-to-copy technological moat.

In terms of product form, the new Li Auto L9 Livis, priced at 559,800 yuan, will define the next era of flagship SUV with embodied intelligence, further strengthening Li Auto’s high-end market layout above 500,000 yuan. Redefining cars based on the “creating humans” logic, the new L9 is no longer a traditional transportation tool driven by humans but a lively, AI-like evolving original intelligent product.

With complete perception, brain, and body tech stacks, the vehicle transforms into an active intelligent partner capable of recognizing users, understanding emotions, and proactively providing services.

To support such an ambitious technological vision, organizational evolution is essential. Li Auto has thoroughly restructured its R&D organization, adopting a model akin to AI tech companies.

Since the beginning of this year, Li Auto has shifted its core goal from “creating functions” to “creating digital humans and silicon-based humans.” The company reorganized R&D teams into units such as base models, software core, and hardware core, resembling human organs.

For example, the “brain” team manages chips, base models, and infrastructure uniformly, ensuring integrated hardware-software design and efficient computing power utilization.

This break from traditional organizational boundaries ensures team members work in harmony like nerves and limbs, preventing capability gaps and providing the strongest organizational support and top talent for the full transformation into an embodied intelligence company.

Privileged Profitability, Locking in Victory with High Investment

In Q4 2025, Li Auto officially resumed management reforms, with founder Li Xiang returning to lead, adopting a flatter organizational structure and significantly shortening decision-making processes.

This series of “active gear shifts” and comprehensive upgrades to the embodied intelligence organization have already begun to show results in Q4, resolving bottlenecks in vehicle sales and laying a solid foundation for future operations.

In an industry where profits are generally under pressure and many brands struggle for survival, how does Li Auto still dare to invest heavily in R&D and infrastructure like supercharging networks?

The answer is simple: this is the privilege of a few profitable companies.

Three consecutive years of real profits and billion-yuan cash reserves give Li Auto the confidence to withstand short-term fluctuations. Its healthy financial position allows it to maintain an extremely high monthly R&D expenditure of 1 billion yuan to relentlessly pursue core technologies.

In 2026, Li Auto will enter its second decade since founding. With the global rollout of all models into overseas markets and the mass production of new embodied intelligence technologies, early heavy investments will gradually translate into a long-term competitive advantage, helping it build an unbreakable technological moat and emerge strongly in the second half of the intelligent era.