Between March 16 and April 15, Li Mega owners who use Li Auto's supercharging stations to charge their vehicles will be rewarded with credits equal to the amount they pay per charge.

(Image credit: Li Auto)

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) has begun offering limited-time charging benefits to owners of the Li Mega MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) in an effort to increase the appeal of its just-launched first battery electric vehicle (BEV) model.

Between March 16 and April 15, Li Mega owners who use Li Auto's supercharging stations to charge their vehicles will be rewarded with credits equal to the amount they pay for each charge.

For every RMB 0.1 ($0.0139) spent, owners will earn one point, which they can use to pay for their next charge. In Li Auto's credits system, one point is equivalent to RMB 0.1.

Li Auto claims that the Li Mega is the world's fastest charging pure electric vehicle, with a range of 500 kilometers in 12 minutes of charging when using 5C charging piles.

If the 5C charging piles are occupied, owners can also use regular 2C charging piles, which can get 500 kilometers of range in as little as 25 minutes of charging, the company said today.

As of March 14, Li Auto had 342 supercharging stations in highway service areas offering 1,464 charging piles and 10 stations in cities with 58 charging piles.

Li Auto officially launched the Li Mega on March 1, offering only one trim with a starting price of RMB 559,800, making it the highest priced model Li Auto currently sells. Deliveries of the model began on March 11.

The Li Mega was launched in the Max trim, and on March 12, Li Auto adjusted its models' naming, changing the Li Mega Max name to Li Mega Ultra.

The model looks like a locomotive for China's high-speed rail, a unique look designed to reduce wind resistance for better range, but it has also been met with a lot of negative comments.

On March 11, the day deliveries of the Li Mega began, Li Auto founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang vowed in his personal WeChat status to fight back against possible illegal behavior.

Li Auto's latest move is aimed at increasing the appeal of the Li Mega, as the negative plethora of comments risked derailing the model's prospects.

The company is pushing ahead with the construction of a charging network and has announced specific goals in an attempt to spare potential Li Mega customers from worrying about range.

Li Auto said on March 11 that it would build 2,700 supercharging stations in China by the end of the year, an increase of 700 from the 2,000 target it announced late last month.

($1 = RMB 7.1961)

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