A price war started by Tesla in January had forced Chinese EV startups like Nio and Xpeng to face sales slumps and expanding losses in the first half.
But Li Auto managed to gain market share in the segment of cars priced above 300,000 yuan and grow profits this year with four extended-range hybrid vehicles targeting family users.
The company posted a positive net income for the third consecutive time in the second quarter, which saw an increase of 147 percent from the net income in the first quarter.
It delivered 173,251 cars in the first seven months of this year, increasing 145 percent from the same period a year ago.
The company targets deliveries of more than 100,000 vehicles in the third quarter.
Monthly sales of BMW, Mercedes and Audi, which are selling at deep discounts via dealers this year, ranged between 31,500 and 70,000 units, respectively, in the first half, according to data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
