Li Auto employees are increasingly eager for clear strategies to reverse the company's weak sales, despite the CEO’s ongoing focus on AI initiatives. Li Auto plans to launch humanoid robots and reveal them as soon as possible. At a recent internal meeting, Li Xiang, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI, HKG: 2015), reiterated the company’s strong emphasis on artificial intelligence. However, employees were more interested in hearing approaches to address the sluggish sales. On Monday morning Beijing time, Li held an almost two-hour online all-hands meeting for employees, primarily concentrating on his views regarding AI trends, according to the local media outlet 21jingji. The meeting was called with very short notice and no prior warning. “We were told only last night that this meeting was not open to all employees but only to a select group, ” an employee shared with 21jingji. During the session, Li highlighted that 2026 is the final opportunity for any company aiming to become a leader in AI, and predicted that Level 4 autonomous driving will be achievable by 2028 at the latest. He emphasized that Li Auto aims to strengthen its brand identity as a company centered on embodied intelligence, not just a maker of mobile homes. Besides vehicles, Li announced plans to launch humanoid robots and unveil them promptly, as reported by 21jingji. To better compete in AI, Li Auto will restructure its teams, dividing R&D into foundational models, software, and hardware sectors.

Both vehicles and robots will be managed within the hardware team. Despite these AI plans, employee dissatisfaction has grown amid the company’s sales downturn, criticizing the CEO’s continued focus on AI over urgent sales concerns. On the company’s internal social platform, many questioned the purpose of the all-hands meeting, according to 21jingji. One employee commented, “AI is not currently my priority or the most urgent issue. I want to hear reflections on our top tasks and the overall 2026 strategy. ” In 2025, Li Auto’s deliveries dropped 18. 81% to 406, 343 units, with decreases in most months of the year. Last week, reports emerged that Li Auto was considering closing some stores to improve efficiency, which the company later confirmed, clarifying that no large-scale closures would occur. Other Chinese EV makers like Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) and Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV, HKG: 9868) are also heavily investing in AI but with different strategies. In a January 14 staff address, Nio’s founder, chairman, and CEO William Li announced plans to increase AI investments this year and expects employees to integrate AI deeply to boost product competitiveness and operational efficiency. Nio has formed an AGI committee aimed at promoting AI adoption throughout its business to improve R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain processes. Xpeng has launched its Iron humanoid robot, now in its second version. In October 2025, Xpeng appointed AI expert Liu Xianming as head of its autonomous driving center, signaling an intensified focus on AI.