Li Auto Sets October 28 Debut for 2026 i6, European Sales Push Begins in Paris

Li Auto has locked in an October 28 launch event for the refreshed 2026 i6, with customer test drives and order books opening the moment the presentation wraps up. Deliveries across China are slated to begin in early November, the company confirmed on Weibo. Pricing for the updated all-electric SUV has not been disclosed.

Before the official reveal, Li Auto will place display cars at all 485 of its stores in China starting October 11, giving shoppers roughly two and a half weeks to inspect the vehicle in person ahead of orders going live. On October 12, the i6 will also appear at the Paris Motor Show, where it will be shown in its European configuration under the simpler “Li 6” badge. Li Auto is positioning the model as its first truly global all-electric product and intends to outline its broader international lineup and European business strategy at the Paris event. Specific launch markets, local pricing and distribution arrangements remain unannounced, though the company has said European sales are planned to kick off in the fourth quarter.

The schedule reflects a revised roadmap Li Auto laid out in late September, when it shifted the i6’s debut from late September to late October while leaving the early-November delivery window untouched. The company framed the adjustment as a way to tighten the gap between order placement and customer handover.

On the hardware side, the 2026 i6 carries Li Auto’s in-house 5C battery pack and its self-developed Mach driver-assistance chip, underscoring a wider effort to bring more core components under internal development. Regulatory filings indicate the model will be sold in both single-motor and dual-motor all-wheel-drive configurations, keeping the current design language while switching to semi-hidden door handles. It remains a five-seat electric SUV.

The i6 originally went on sale in September 2025 with an entry price of 249,800 yuan (about $37,100) and has since become a pillar of Li Auto’s volume. It recorded 16,979 deliveries in August, a 10.11% gain over July and 45.06% of the brand’s total monthly deliveries. Cumulative deliveries through the end of August reached 181,813 units since launch, including 152,842 in the first eight months of this year alone. September figures for the model are not yet available; Li Auto as a whole delivered 31,817 vehicles that month, a 6.29% year-on-year decline that broke a brief return to growth in August.