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2026
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06
Li Auto Executive Fires Back at Rivals: The Endgame of Range Extenders is Not Pure Battery, But 5C Extended-Range Technology
Beijing, June 24 (Fast Technology) — At the launch event for the all-new Li Auto L8 on the evening of June 23, Liu Jie, President of Li Auto's Product Line, publicly pushed back against the industry catchphrase that "the endgame for extended-range electric vehicles is pure battery-electric," offering a new proposition in response: "The endgame of EREV is 5C EREV."
This core assertion is underpinned by the third-generation 5C extended-range system featured in new models including the all-new Li Auto L8 and L9 Livis, according to the company.
The all-new Li Auto L8 comes standard with a 72.7kWh large-capacity battery, delivering a CLTC-rated all-electric range of 430 kilometers. Charging efficiency has been significantly improved, with the battery able to charge from 10% to 80% in as little as 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, Li Auto has deployed 4,092 ultra-fast charging stations across 290 cities nationwide, enabling pure-electric travel within provinces for its users.
Notably, amid recent industry debates over the EREV technology pathway, Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto, had previously spoken out against the practice of "pitting one against the other" between pure electric and extended-range technologies within the new-energy vehicle sector.
In response to recent industry arguments that have used the periodical decline in EREV market share to question the long-term development potential of the category, Li Xiang stated that pure electric and extended-range vehicles serve different application scenarios, with the core objective being to meet diverse user travel needs. He emphasized that there is no technological hierarchy or superiority between the two, and that the industry should not foster a "pecking order" in new-energy energy sources.
In his view, EREV models are ideally suited for long-distance travel and off-road scenarios, completely eliminating range anxiety — a core advantage he described as irreplaceable.
Li Xiang further analyzed the current market landscape, noting that over 40% of car buyers in China still ultimately choose traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Even in the premium flagship five-seat SUV segment, luxury gasoline models such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE continue to command substantial consumer bases, indicating that new-energy vehicle market penetration has yet to reach its ceiling.
Rather than engaging in intra-industry rivalry over the already-converted NEV user base, Li Xiang argued, new-energy automakers should focus on addressing product shortcomings, tapping into latent consumer demand, and collectively expanding the overall NEV market — with the ultimate goal of converting more fuel-vehicle users to new-energy alternatives.
Striking a contrasting note, Shen Fei, President of NIO's sub-brand Onvo (LeDao), has publicly voiced strong confidence in the mainstream trajectory of pure battery-electric vehicles.
On June 18, Shen Fei released industry data showing that NEV penetration in China reached 62.9% in May, with pure electric vehicles accounting for 67% of that segment — firmly establishing them as the dominant force in the new-energy market — while EREV share slipped further to just 7%.
On the infrastructure front, Shen noted that NIO and Onvo have jointly built 8,981 battery-swapping and charging stations nationwide. Combined with continuous infrastructure investments from other NEV manufacturers, recharging pure EVs has now become more convenient than refueling gasoline vehicles in most scenarios.
Shen Fei also conducted an online poll asking consumers to choose between pure electric and EREV for large five-seat SUVs, with 93.4% of participants opting for pure electric models.
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