Today, Li Auto’s CEO officially announced that the company has achieved its goal of deploying 2,500 5C ultra-fast charging stations. This milestone means Li Auto now has more charging stations in China than Tesla.
The 2,500th station is located at the Shanghai Disney Resort. This new station is equipped with three sets of dual-gun 5C ultra-fast chargers, offering six charging bays. It is Li Auto’s first fully 5C ultra-fast charging station.
With this, Li Auto has officially fulfilled its energy infrastructure goal set in February.
Back in February—following the release of the Li Auto L8 model—the company raised its target for self-operated ultra-fast charging stations to over 2,500. Additionally, it plans to cover 90% of national expressways and the core urban areas of Tier-4 and higher cities by 2025.
Li Xiang also stated that the upcoming Li Auto L8, launching in July, and the Li Auto L6, launching in September, will both support 5C ultra-fast charging. With 5C battery packs across the entire product line and matching 5C charging infrastructure, the vehicles will offer extremely rapid charging—up to 500 kilometers in 10 minutes—which is expected to become a key reason for users to choose Li Auto.
Over the course of 2 years and 2 months, Li Auto has deployed a total of 2,500 ultra-fast charging stations and 13,701 charging piles across 31 provinces and 241 cities in China.
Currently, Li Auto’s ultra-fast charging network achieves full-scenario coverage through differentiated configurations:
- 5C Extreme Fast Chargers (520kW): Deployed at highway hubs, delivering 500km of range in 12 minutes; equipped with liquid-cooling systems to ensure full power operation in environments ranging from -30°C to 45°C.
- 4C Efficiency Chargers (480kW): Placed in core urban areas, capable of adding 400km in 10 minutes; designed to meet the fast-paced needs of business districts.
- 2C Smart Chargers (250kW): Installed in neighborhood and community locations, offering overnight slow charging with integrated battery health management.
Currently, 100% of highway sites are equipped with 5C chargers, while urban stations use a “1 flagship + 3 satellites” layout, reducing average detour distance by 62% for users.
According to a Li Auto NEV Ultra-Fast Charging Station Partnership Plan leaked in early 2024, the company plans to build over 10,000 ultra-fast charging stations by 2025, aiming for a 20% market share. The expansion strategy will involve a franchising model, leveraging partner and platform resources to rapidly scale the charging network.
As the penetration rate of NEVs continues to accelerate, all major automakers are rushing to build out their own energy replenishment systems. Let’s take a look at the current ultra-fast charging station deployment across various companies (data as of March 28, 2025):
- NIO: 2,868 stations
- XPeng: 2,265 stations
- Tesla: 2,000+ stations
- Zeekr: 1,500+ stations
Can Li Auto make a breakthrough and overtake its competitors in this rapidly evolving landscape?
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