• As of press time, Li Auto was down 5.3 percent in Hong Kong, bringing its cumulative decline since July 21 to 21.8 percent.

• Li Auto relaunched the Li i8 yesterday, just one week before the SUV's launch.

Li Auto shares extend losses after i8 relaunch

The relaunch of the Li i8 appears to have failed to reassure investors in Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).

As of press time, Li Auto's shares were down 5.3 percent to HK$97.35 in Hong Kong trading, bringing the cumulative decline since July 21 to 21.8 percent.

This means that Li Auto's stock has entered a technical bear market, a condition in which an asset's price has fallen more than 20 percent from its recent high.

Li Auto began pre-sales of the Li i8, its first all-electric SUV (sport utility vehicle), on July 17, with shares surging 9.73 percent in Hong Kong that day.

However, the company's stock has been in a steady decline since then.

On July 29, the Li i8 was officially launched, offering three variants -- Pro, Max, and Ultra --with starting prices of RMB 321,800, RMB 349,800, and RMB 369,800, respectively.

The starting price was reduced by at least RMB 28,200, or 8.06 percent, from the estimated price range of RMB 350,000 to RMB 400,000 announced on July 17, a common strategy in China's automotive industry.

The pricing was deemed uncompetitive, particularly when compared to the L90 electric SUV from Onvo, a sub-brand of Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), which was launched nearly simultaneously.

Onvo officially launched the L90 on July 31 and began deliveries of the SUV the following day on August 1. Including the battery pack, the L90 starts at RMB 265,800.

Yesterday, Li Auto announced that only the Max variant of the Li i8 would remain, with the price reduced to RMB 339,800, a decrease of RMB 10,000, or 2.86 percent, from the previous price.

With the discontinuation of the Pro and Max variants, consumers can now obtain vehicles with the same configuration as the Ultra variant through paid options, with the total cost amounting to RMB 349,800, a reduction of RMB 20,000 compared to the Ultra variant.

Deliveries of the Li i8 will still begin on August 20.

Li Auto has not disclosed the number of pre-orders or firm orders for the Li i8, but its founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang said in a video on the short video platform Douyin yesterday that pre-orders for the SUV have exceeded 30,000 units.

In China, pre-orders are typically deposits that can be refunded at any time, while firm orders are non-refundable deposits.