(Yicai) Feb. 7 -- The chief executive officer of Li Auto has responded on his social media account to rumors claiming the Chinese new energy vehicle startup is giving employees year-end bonuses of up to eight monthly salaries.

“We cannot learn Huawei Technologies’ process without learning its profit allocation system,” Li Xiang posted on Weibo on Feb. 5. If the company exceeds the annual target, employees will receive larger bonuses, if it does not meet the annual target, employees will receive smaller bonuses, Li explained.

Li Auto remained China’s top NEV startup by sales last year. It sold 376,030 cars in 2023, up 182 percent from the year before, after selling a monthly record of 50,353 units in December. The Beijing-based firm set its annual sales target for this year to 800,000 units.

In the third quarter of last year, Li Auto reported a net profit of CNY2.8 billion (USD390 million), versus a loss of CNY1.7 billion a year earlier, achieving profitability for the fourth consecutive quarter. Revenue soared 271 percent to CNY34.7 billion (USD4.8 billion) in the period.

Editor: Futura Costaglione