The Li i9 flagship electric SUV starts at 369,800 yuan ($54,680) in China and offers a CLTC range of 705 km. Credit: Li Auto
- The Li i9 comes only in a Home trim, priced just 8.8% above the top-spec Li i8, with more space and swiveling seats.
- The new model offers a CLTC range of 705 km and comes standard with steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) on Wednesday launched its new flagship battery electric SUV (sport utility vehicle), the Li i9, expanding its premium EV lineup with a roomier family cabin.
The 6-seat SUV comes only in a Home trim with a nationwide retail price of 369,800 yuan ($54,680) in China. It is the first flagship model built on Li Auto’s second-generation battery electric platform.
The Li i9 costs 30,000 yuan more than the smaller Li i8’s all-wheel-drive performance version, priced at 339,800 yuan. The Li i8 also offers a rear-wheel-drive long-range version for 309,800 yuan.
The pricing allows Chinese buyers to upgrade from the all-wheel-drive Li i8 to the larger flagship for a premium of about 8.8%, putting the 2 electric SUVs close in price.
The Li i9 measures 5,225 mm in length with a wheelbase of 3,168 mm, exceeding the Li i8 by 140 mm and 118 mm, respectively. It is Li Auto’s largest SUV to date.
Family space is a key selling point. The Li i9 comes standard with 4 zero-gravity seats, with power-swiveling second-row seats allowing rear passengers to sit face-to-face.
It is Li Auto’s second model to offer a Home trim after the Li Mega electric MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), extending the home-like cabin concept to its SUV lineup.
The Li i9 uses a 101-kWh ternary lithium battery supporting 5C charging and offers a CLTC range of 705 km. The company said 10 minutes of charging can add 500 km of range.
By comparison, the all-wheel-drive Li i8 has a CLTC range of 720 km, while the rear-wheel-drive version offers 780 km. The Li i9’s main distinction is therefore its space and comfort features rather than longer range.
The new model features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system producing 400 kW (536 hp) and 660 Nm of torque, enabling it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds.
Standard chassis features include dual-chamber, dual-valve air suspension, steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering. Its minimum turning diameter of 10.6 meters is designed to improve the large SUV’s maneuverability in cities.
For driver assistance, the Li i9 comes standard with Li Auto’s in-house-developed Mach M100 chip. It also features 1 forward-facing LiDAR sensor and the Mach VLA model.
Buyers can pay 30,000 yuan for the dual-Mach M100 embodied intelligence package, which provides a dual-chip configuration and adds 2 side-facing LiDAR sensors and 1 rear-facing sensor.
The cabin features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 chip, a 29-inch 6K panoramic display and a 21-inch 4K rear entertainment screen that slides forward and backward.
The Li i9 further expands Li Auto’s battery electric lineup, joining the Li Mega, Li i8 and Li i6 as the company continues to develop both extended-range and battery electric vehicles.
The new flagship also has a role in improving the company’s sales mix and profitability. Li Auto’s vehicle margin was 9.4% in the second quarter, down from 19.4% a year earlier, while its net loss totaled 1.7 billion yuan.
Management said on an earnings call in August that battery electric vehicles were expected to account for a larger share of sales in the second half of the year as new models, including the Li i9, arrive.
Li Auto delivered 37,679 vehicles in August, up 32.07% year-on-year, ending 3 consecutive months of annual declines. Deliveries in the first 8 months totaled 261,619 vehicles, still down 0.6% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The new-generation Li Mega and upcoming Li i9 will gradually switch from CATL batteries to batteries developed in-house by Li Auto.
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