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[Autohome News] On September 4, Sunwoda Electronics issued an announcement stating that its board of directors had approved a capital increase and share expansion proposal for its subsidiary, Sunwoda Power. Li Auto plans to invest RMB 2.65 billion in Sunwoda Power, subscribing for an 8.79% stake after the capital increase. Upon completion of the transaction, Li Auto-related entities will indirectly hold a total of 11.17% of Sunwoda Power’s shares. The two parties will engage in deeper, long-term collaboration in the fields of power battery R&D, manufacturing, and quality management.
Li Auto stated that this strategic investment is not purely financial, but rather aims to establish long-term strategic synergy around battery technology, manufacturing quality, and user value. The rationale is that in areas such as large-capacity extended-range batteries, 5C ultra-fast charging, high safety, and long life, batteries need to be deeply coupled with vehicle architecture, thermal management, BMS, chassis integration, and user scenarios. Through this investment, the two sides will upgrade from joint R&D and manufacturing coordination to a long-term community of shared interests—Li Auto will continue to lead the product definition, performance targets, quality standards, and core technology development oriented toward user needs, while Sunwoda Power will leverage its engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain capabilities to drive stable, high-quality mass production of battery technologies.
For Li Auto, batteries have never been simple off-the-shelf standard components. Since establishing its in-house R&D team in 2015, Li Auto’s battery development has covered cells, packs, BMS, thermal management, vehicle integration, and full-lifecycle safety management. It has successively promoted the industry’s first extended-range large battery, 5C ultra-fast charging, and proprietary technologies such as the ATR algorithm.
As to why Li Auto does not build its own cell factory but instead chooses strategic investment and cooperative manufacturing, the company’s principle is: for key technologies that determine user experience and product differentiation, maintain deep in-house R&D and leadership; for areas that require long-term manufacturing accumulation, scale efficiency, and industrial synergy, engage in deep cooperation with industrial partners. Power batteries are a highly specialized, asset-heavy, and manufacturing-intensive industry. Li Auto hopes to invest more resources in technological breakthroughs that users can truly perceive, such as large capacity, 5C ultra-fast charging, long life, high safety, low-temperature performance, and vehicle system integration.
Regardless of the cooperation model, all production solutions must meet unified Li Auto standards. Ultimately, Li Auto is responsible to users for battery performance, safety, quality, and service—this is what the company calls “Li Auto Batteries, Li Auto Guaranteed.” (Reported by Chen Hao from Autohome)