See the small to know the ideal, see the big to know the gains and losses.

$Li Auto(LI.US) Let's talk about something other than cars. The analysis of the new product launch by Dolphin Research @海豚投研 has already been made very clear. I will try to analyze what exactly went wrong with Li Auto's organizational structure that led to the i8's launch not meeting expectations.

First of all, from a product perspective, the i8 feels like a work with a very futuristic appearance but is actually very traditional at its core, even feeling like an extended-range vehicle converted to pure electric. There are three core issues that this car completely fails to address:

1/ Why is the trunk space so small yet it still maintains a five-meter length limit;
2/ Why does such an aggressive new design not have significantly better range than its competitors;
3/ Considering the above two issues, why is this car, despite nationwide infrastructure coverage over the past year, still only suitable for provincial use?

In the previous article, I was also wondering if the i9 actually exists but just wasn't released, and if so, what is the reason for not releasing it? Why is there no product to fill the gap between the L9 and MEGA?

I can only understand it as there being a positioning wall within Li Auto, where everyone operates within the logic of this positioning wall, similar to Apple's digital/Pro series. The reason for the non-existence of the i9 is not because users don't need it, but because the product team believes the i8 is sufficient. If the L9 is fine as a cross-province car, then the i8 should be too.

Then why was there an L7 in the extended-range era? And why is there an L9? I think perhaps even they themselves can't answer this question now, but it's definitely not because of money.

Secondly, from a GTM perspective, the i8 followed a very 3C, efficient but risky strategy, which is to go big and adjust quickly. Actually, everything was still relatively normal during the launch event, but the part where they opened a Coke on stage really got me. Isn't this just pure plagiarism? Then with all the subsequent antics, it felt to me like the marketing side didn't treat this car as a family product at all. All actions were based on communication effect and efficiency, which led to the i8 crashing into the aircraft carrier meme, and then the price drop—this car followed the old path of MEGA, dropping a few ten thousand again for an adjustment, which is actually a big blow. If you are a user and see this car listed at 400,000 for the top configuration, and then it drops to 350,000 in just a few days, the value of this car in your mind might only be 300,000, after all, isn't it called i8, and now the low configuration is just 300,000?

I believe Li Auto can completely expose its sense of urgency, the i8 must be a hit, my expectation management is very aggressive, I start by selling the top configuration at 340,000, my promotion is the same as before with the L9 but now I'm a high-pressure pure electric, and that's it.

Why leave such a rugged back road to walk? Is it about market value management again? Let me ask again, when you were doing extended-range, were you this conflicted?

Whether from a product or marketing perspective, the problem reflected this time is that Li Auto's team has a micro vision that can no longer face the core competition in the macro pure electric market:

1/ Your competitors have no segmentation red lines, they are all fighting hard;
2/ Your competitors are completely focused on the overflow satisfaction of user needs, note it's overflow, because the product line is already planning for the 2026/27 purchase tax reduction era, considering the product must account for value, my friend;
3/ Your competitors won't play expectation management games with their own product listings, breaking the issue is not fun at all.

There's nothing much to analyze about the i6 either, if Li Auto doesn't have the determination to eliminate its own L6 + L7, then analyzing it is of no value. If the team realizes this, at least on the GTM side, they shouldn't make similar mistakes again.

And next year's extended-range facelift, L will no longer face fuel cars but extended-range cars, let's see XPeng's strategy at the end of the year, don't use a micro vision to frame your own system, it's really dangerous.