Successful Chinese premium start-up Li Auto is on track for a UK launch following its planned European debut with the sleek i6 electric SUV at the Paris motor show in October.
Li Auto will begin sales in right-hand-drive markets by the end of the year with vehicles including the i6, company founder and CEO Xiang Li said on the company’s most recent earnings call.
Li didn’t specifically mention the UK, but it has become a key export destination for Chinese EVs thanks to the absence of the additional tariffs on Chinese cars that have been imposed by the EU.
Sales of the i6 would begin in European markets in the fourth quarter of this year, Li said on the call in late August.
The i6 has been a huge hit in China since launching last year. It became the third-best-selling model outright over the first six months of this year, according to retail sales figures from sales aggregator Best Selling Cars Blog.
The i6 uses the same futuristic aero design that had its debut on Li Auto's first electric model, the 5350mm-long Mega MPV.
The Mega could be a possible addition to a UK line-up, having been prepped for the RHD-market sales in Singapore and Hong Kong that are due to begin by the end of the year.
The i6 measures 4950mm long and would enter the competitive mid-size premium electric SUV market that is led by the BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Volvo EX60.
The model comes with an 87kWh battery for a claimed range of 720km (447 miles), as measured on the generous Chinese CLTC cycle. The European figure is likely to match that of the iX3 40, at a maximum 395 miles, but charging power at a quoted 500kW beats the iX3’s quoted 400kW.
Power is rated at 335bhp for the rear-wheel-drive version and 536bhp for the four-wheel-drive model.
