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.
The company will begin sales in right-hand drive markets by the end of the year with vehicles including the i6, founder and CEO Xiang Li said on the company’s most recent earnings call.
Li didn’t specifically mention the UK but we are a key export destination for Chinese EVs thanks to the lack of additional tariffs imposed by the European Union.
Sales of the i6 would begin in European markets in the fourth quarter of this year, Li said on the call late August.
The i6 has been a huge hit in China since launching last year, becoming 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 car uses the same futuristic aero design the company debuted on its first electric model, the 5350mm Mega MPV. The Mega could be possible addition to a UK line-up having been prepped for right-hand-drive market sales in Singapore and Hong Kong by the end of the year.
The i6 measures 4950mm long and would enter the competitive midsize premium electric SUV market led by the BMW iX3, Mercedes GLC and Volvo EX60.
The model comes with a 87 kilowatt per hour 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 all-wheel-drive model.
