(Yicai) Oct. 11 -- Li Auto, a Chinese new energy vehicle maker, will keep exporting used cars but will not seriously consider international expansion until 2028, according to its plans. 

Going global will not be the company’s strategic focus for a long time, tech media outlet 36Kr reported today, citing management of the Beijing-based startup talking during a four-day conference. Before 2028, Li Auto will mainly export pre-owned cars.

Part of the reason is in product design. People in only a few countries value family cars, according to a survey done by the firm in dozens of overseas markets. Analysts say that Li Auto mainly makes family cars priced at over CNY200,000 (USD27,380), which are generally too large for the European market, so China will be the main focus for the firm in the next few years.

Li Auto has been sharpening its edge despite the recent strong performance of Huawei Technologies’ rivaling Aito M7 sport utility vehicle. The startup has lined up product launches for the next years till 2027 along with a new generation of a technology platform in 2026 featuring complete self-driving capabilities.

By 2028, China’s NEV penetration rate could reach 90 percent, and the market may be occupied by only four or five companies, including BYD, Tesla, and Huawei, per Li Auto. If the newcomer wants to stay in the race, it needs to sell more than three million vehicles in 2028, about twice its target for 2025.

Li Auto has scored some wins in the increasingly crowded space of NEV startups in China. In the second quarter, revenue more than tripled to a record high of CNY28.7 billion (USD3.9 billion) from a year ago while net profit more than doubled to CNY2.3 billion (USD314.9 million), versus a net loss of CNY618 million (USD84.6 million) in the same period of last year. Li Auto sold almost 244,230 units in the first nine months of this year while the goal is 40,000 per month.

Editor: Emmi Laine