Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto said on Japan ArchivesApril 13 that it has no plans at the moment to begin selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in Uzbekistan, adding that the images showing its executives signing agreements with a dealership are fake. The company has reported the case to the police and did not provide further details, pending the outcome of the investigation, according to a statement posted on the Chinese microblogging platform. Images circulated on Chinese social media also show a group of unknown people visiting Li Auto’s production facility in the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou and briefly posing for photographers at the gate of the factory. Li Auto told the Chinese media outlet Caixin in March that it has started hiring staff for its local sales and service teams in Dubai, with plans to begin direct sales and vehicle delivery in the Middle East in the fourth quarter of this year. A dedicated after-sales service network will be set up by June, as individual dealers have been reselling the company’s cars in the region. [Li Auto statement, Caixin, in Chinese]
