By Michael Elkins
Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and $46.00 price target on Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) following the launch of the company’s new L8 premium electric SUV. The company also provided further information about L7/L6.
The launch on September 30th was generally in-line with Goldman Sachs’ expectations as the L8 marks a clear upgrade relative to the Li ONE. With the launch of the SUV, the “L Series” can now better cater to different family needs. Analysts wrote that they “continue to see Li Auto as differentiating itself from the broader China auto-making industry with innovative EV models.”
They wrote in a note, “Li Auto is one of the leading EV startups in China. We are Buy-rated (on Conviction List) on the H-share and ADR given that we believe Li Auto is differentiating itself from the broader Chinese auto-making industry by envisioning and creating compelling EV consumer experiences – and showing a willingness to take on the risk of unconventional technologies and act innovatively. The success of Li ONE illustrates the company’s understanding of consumer needs, operational capability as well as brand establishment, and it is leveraging these to its next generation products of EREV/BEV models with evolving autonomous driving technologies. We see risk-reward skewed to the upside.”
Shares of LI are down 0.61% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.