Li Auto has established a new research and development center in Shanghai, also home to Tesla’s first overseas assembly plant, intensifying competition with rivals like Nio and Xpeng as the startups race to upgrade their electric vehicle technologies.

The new R&D center will develop technologies including high-voltage platforms, ultra-fast charging, autonomous driving and next-generation intelligent cockpits, Li Auto announced in a WeChat post on Tuesday.

Hiring has already started for the new facility, which is also designed to develop new car models, according to the post.

The hub’s launch is part of Li Auto’s renewed effort in technology development. In December, the U.S.-listed company unveiled plans to issue shares to raise new funds, with a large part of that earmarked to develop technologies involving battery, charging, autonomous driving as well as new car models. Its domestic archrivals Nio and Xpeng have also taken similar actions.

Li Auto, which went public on Nasdaq in July last year, delivered 5,379 Li ONEs in January, down from the 6,126 Li ONEs sold in December 2020. But the January sales tripled the number from a year ago, when Li Auto just started selling the model. The Li ONE is Li Auto’s first model and the company says that it is planning to launch a premium model in 2022.

Recently, Nio and Xpeng reported modest delivery growth for January. The two carmakers’ January sales saw respective month-on-month increases of 3.1% and 5.5%.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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