Li Auto’s Li 6 Reaches Europe a Quarter Later Than Promised

Li Auto showed the European Li 6 at the Paris Motor Show on 12 October, and the on-sale date is a quarter later than the company gave in August. Sales and deliveries start in the Netherlands and Norway in the first quarter of 2027, with more markets to follow, according to Li Auto’s newsroom. On its August earnings call, Li Auto had pointed to the fourth quarter of 2026. I covered the sponsorship start in my earlier article on the Solheim Cup launch.

Why Norway and the Netherlands Go First

Norway isn’t in the EU, so the bloc’s tariffs on Chinese-built EVs don’t apply there, while the Netherlands is inside the EU and they do. I’d call that a sensible pairing for a first test, because one car shows how it sells with and without those tariffs. The Netherlands also gets Li Auto’s European spare parts distribution centre, due to open in December 2026 together with roadside assistance and a customer call centre. Li Auto hasn’t announced a price or a European distributor for either market, and it joins a field of Chinese brands I mapped in why a hundred Chinese EV brands can’t all survive the shakeout.

Li Auto’s European website lists the same 96 kWh battery for both Li 6 versions, with these power and range figures.

Source: Li Auto European website, October 2026.

Li Auto is moving its lineup away from CATL and onto batteries it develops itself, with the refreshed i6 due to add its own 5C battery, as I described in that earlier article. The 96 kWh pack replaces the 87.3 kWh CATL one I listed for the Chinese i6, and I’d read it as part of that shift, because the refreshed i6 is the car that was due to get the new battery. Li Auto also says the Li 6 was developed to meet Euro NCAP’s five-star standard and will be tested after launch, which is a development target until the result is published.

Price and distributor are what I’d watch first, since a quarter’s delay with neither named leaves little to judge. The Euro NCAP result can only follow once cars are on the road.

Featured Image: Li Auto