Lixiang’s losses shake the Chinese carmaker

The electric car maker surprised the market with a quarterly loss of 624 million yuan, about 82 million euros. It is Lixiang’s first dip back into negative territory since late 2022, and in China’s fiercely competitive EV sector setbacks never stem from a single cause.

Sales dropped 39 percent compared with the same period last year. The company delivered 93 211 vehicles, a figure that did not look disastrous until set against previous performance. A year ago Lixiang posted a profit of 2.8 billion yuan, about 401 million dollars.

Falling deliveries were not the only problem. The autumn brought an uncomfortable jolt when the firm launched a large scale recall. In total 11.4 thousand Mega luxury electric minibuses were called back after one vehicle caught fire while driving.

Without the costs linked to the Mega recall the company’s automotive gross margin would sit at 19.8 percent. Reality proved far darker. Early calculations suggest the recall inflicted a loss of roughly 1.1 billion yuan, 155.2 million dollars, or around 145 million euros.

The firm is not expecting a swift recovery in the fourth quarter. It aims to deliver between 100 and 110 thousand vehicles from October to December, which would mean a 30 to 37 percent drop compared with last year. October accounted for 31 767 deliveries. November and December are forecast to produce between 68.2 and 78.2 thousand.

Lixiang’s setback mirrors a wider pattern in which Chinese EV makers struggle to balance affordability, rising competition and an ongoing price war. Technical issues, especially battery related risks, add further pressure when measured against Tesla and other global rivals. Investors will now watch closely to see whether Lixiang can stabilise its position over the coming months or whether this downturn becomes the new normal.