07:21 AM EDT, 05/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Li Auto ( LI ) said Monday it will not launch its battery-powered electric sport-utility vehicles this year, citing shortages of branded charging stations and tight parking at showrooms.

"The latest plan is to release in the first half of next year," Li Xiang, founder and chief executive of the company, said in a call with analysts, according to a transcript.

He said the company wants to first achieve a presence of branded charging stations akin to Tesla's (TSLA) presence in China before bringing its purely electric SUV to market.

He also said the company lacked parking spots for displaying the vehicle in stores to be able to sustain sales of 10,000 units per model. "We need an additional 500 to 600 display spots across the country," he said. "Otherwise, we'll be only increasing the number of products rather than the number of sales."

Shares of the EV maker fell more than 3% in recent Tuesday premarket activity.

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