Who owns Li Auto? The ownership chain, Li Auto's stake and the 2015 deal
Facts checked Chinese holding 100%
Li Auto is Chinese. Li Auto Inc. was founded in 2015 by Li Xiang, is based in Beijing and is listed in New York and Hong Kong. It built its business on range-extender SUVs rather than pure electric cars and is not sold outside China and a few nearby markets.
Li Auto is the sole marque of Li Auto Inc.; the brand and the company are the same business.
The chain, step by step
Li Xiang holds a stake in Li Auto since 2015.
Li Xiang founded the company in 2015 and is its chairman and chief executive. At the July 2020 IPO filing he held 25.1% of the shares and 70.3% of the voting power through Li Auto's dual-class structure. No current percentage is asserted here; the company has issued shares since listing on Nasdaq in 2020 and in Hong Kong afterwards.
| Holder | Holds | Kind | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li Xiang | Li Auto | holds a stake in | not published | 2015 |
| Li Auto | Li Auto | controls | controls | 2015 |
Li Auto: questions people ask
- Is Li Auto Chinese?
- Yes. Li Auto Inc. was founded in Beijing in 2015, is headquartered in Shunyi district there, and builds its cars at Changzhou in Jiangsu province and at a Beijing plant. Its shares are listed on Nasdaq and in Hong Kong.
- Who owns Li Auto?
- It is a listed company controlled by its founder through a dual-class share structure: at the July 2020 IPO filing Li Xiang held 25.1% of the shares and 70.3% of the voting power. Meituan and its chief executive Wang Xing are the largest outside shareholders.
- What does Li Auto's Chinese name mean?
- 理想 (Lǐxiǎng) means 'ideal'. It is also a near-homophone of the founder's name, 李想 Lǐ Xiǎng, so the marque reads both as 'Ideal Motors' and as the man's own name.
- Are Li Auto's cars electric?
- Both kinds. The cars the brand is known for are extended-range electric vehicles, where electric motors always drive the wheels and a small petrol engine runs only as a generator. Li Auto now also sells models with no engine at all.
- Where can you buy a Li Auto?
- Mainly in China. Exports began in 2026 with the L9 in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and then the United Arab Emirates; European sales were stated for the fourth quarter of 2026. It has never been sold in the United States.
Related
Sources for Li Auto
- Li Auto Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Li Auto Inc. Announces Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1). Read .
- Li Auto Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Li Auto Inc. December 2025 Delivery Update (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1). Read .
- Wikipedia, Li Auto. Read . Finding aid for the Li ONE dates, the extended-range powertrain description and the plants.
- CnEVPost, Li Auto maps overseas push with i6 for Europe, L9 for Dubai. Read .
- CnEVPost, Li Auto launches new L9 in UAE in key Middle East expansion step. Read . Read via the publisher's front page listing on 4 September 2026: the new L9 launched in the UAE from about US$87,100.
- Wikipedia, List of automobile manufacturers of China. Read . Li Auto listed among major private Chinese manufacturers.
- CnEVPost, Factbox: Meituan is Li Auto's second largest shareholder with 14.5% stake. Read .
- Li Auto Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Li Auto Inc. Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025. Read . Reports 1,780,376,942 Class A and 355,812,080 Class B ordinary shares outstanding at 31 December 2025.