Li Auto Reports Q1 2026 Net Loss of RMB2.3 Billion as Revenues Fall
Li Auto posted a net loss of RMB2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reversing a profit a year earlier, as vehicle margins slumped to 6.1%.
- 95,142 vehicles
- RMB23.0 billion
- RMB2.3 billion
What Happened
Li Auto Inc. reported first-quarter 2026 total revenues of RMB23.0 billion ($3.3 billion), down 11.4% year-over-year. Vehicle sales fell 12.7% to RMB21.5 billion, and gross margin dropped to 7.9% from 20.5% a year earlier. The company attributed the decline to a different product mix and lower average selling price.
RMB2.3 billion
Compared with net income of RMB646.6 million in Q1 2025.
Deliveries in the quarter totaled 95,142 vehicles, up 2.5% year-over-year but down sequentially from 109,194 in Q4 2025. Operating loss was RMB3.0 billion, and free cash flow was negative RMB7.4 billion. The company ended March with RMB94.3 billion in cash.
- Vehicle margin: 6.1% vs. 19.8% in Q1 2025
- Operating margin: negative 13.0% vs. positive 1.0%
- Non-GAAP net loss: RMB2.1 billion vs. net income of RMB1.0 billion
Why this matters
The results highlight the financial strain from China's EV price war and product transition, though the company expects improvement as new models like the all-new Li L9 ramp up.
Terms in This Story
- NEV
- New energy vehicle, a category in China including battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles.
- ADS
- American depositary share, a U.S. dollar-denominated equity share of a foreign company traded on U.S. exchanges.
- Vehicle margin
- Vehicle margin is the profit from vehicle sales as a percentage of vehicle revenue.
- Free cash flow
- Cash from operations minus capital expenditures, indicating how much cash a company generates after spending to maintain or expand its asset base.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.