Sunday, 8 November 2026 News, reviews and tests of Chinese cars

2026 Li i6 drops Nvidia for its own chip and gets a 96 kWh battery

The 2026 Li i6 gets Li Auto’s own Mach M100 chip, a 96 kWh battery and up to 780 km of range, at an unchanged price of about $37,190.

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2026 Li Auto i6 electric five-seat SUV

Li Auto has launched the 2026 Li i6, a heavily upgraded version of its five-seat electric SUV. The biggest news is under the skin: Nvidia hardware is out, replaced by Li Auto’s own Mach M100 driver-assistance chip, and the battery is bigger. The starting price stays the same at about $37,190.

Price and deliveries

Customers who buy on or before November 30 get an introductory price of about $35,700. Li Auto says cars are available with short lead times, with deliveries in as little as one to two weeks.

In-house chip instead of Nvidia

Each Mach M100 delivers 1,280 TOPS of computing power, compared with 700 TOPS for the Nvidia Thor-U used in the 2025 model. An optional dual-chip package raises this to 2,560 TOPS and adds two side and one rear solid-state lidar sensors to the standard front lidar, plus sensor-activated power front doors.

Spec2025 Li i62026 Li i6
Driver-assist chipNvidia Thor-U, 700 TOPSMach M100, 1,280 TOPS
Battery87.3 kWh96 kWh Lianshan 5C LFP
CLTC range (RWD)720 km780 km
CLTC range (AWD)660 km710 km
Cockpit chipSnapdragon 8295PSnapdragon 8797

Li Auto says 10 minutes of charging adds about 500 km of range.

New cabin

The two 15.7-inch front displays are replaced by a 29-inch 6K panoramic screen. Zero-gravity front seats with 16-way adjustment and 18-point massage are now standard, and a 21-inch 4K rear screen remains optional. ADB matrix headlights and a power frunk are also new.

Europe is next

The i6 sold 160,221 units in the first nine months of 2026, but September deliveries fell to 7,379. The update should revive demand at home, and the car will also lead Li Auto’s move into Europe: as the Li 6, it is due in Norway and the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2027.

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