Li Auto Launches Updated i6 With Its Own Driving Chip and a Bigger Battery

Li Auto launched the 2026 version of its i6 electric SUV on October 28, with a starting list price of RMB 249,800 and a limited-time price of RMB 239,800 available through November 30. The update standardizes two in-house technologies across all trims: the Mach M100 assisted-driving chip, delivering 1,280 TOPS of computing performance alongside the Mach VLA assisted-driving system, and a 96 kWh Lianshan 5C lithium iron phosphate battery.

Range rises with the battery. The rear-wheel-drive version’s CLTC-rated range increases to 780 kilometers, compared with 720 kilometers previously, while the all-wheel-drive version offers 710 kilometers. Other upgrades include a 29-inch 6K panoramic display, a Snapdragon 8797 cockpit chip, support for Apple CarPlay, Huawei HiCar and Carlink, two zero-gravity front seats and a powered front trunk. Li Auto said vehicles available from inventory could be delivered within one to two weeks.

The i6 is Li Auto’s volume engine: it has accumulated nearly 200,000 deliveries in just over a year on the market and contributed more than half of Li Auto’s total sales in the first three quarters of 2026, yet the company still posted a first-half loss of RMB 3.981 billion with vehicle gross margin falling to 7.8%. The European version, branded the Li 6, is slated to begin deliveries in the Netherlands and Norway in the first quarter of 2027 — making the i6’s refresh a test of whether better technology, rather than cheaper prices, can hold ground in China’s crowded electric SUV market.