Li Auto i6 drives 811 km on one charge in livestreamed test

Chinese carmaker Li Auto has put a number on the range of its refreshed i6 electric SUV, and it is a big one. In an endurance drive streamed live on 23 October, the car covered 811.4 km on a single charge of its 96 kWh battery, CarNewsChina reports. That is roughly 504 miles.

How the test was run

Li Auto drove the i6 around Lake Tai in the Yangtze River Delta for about 18 hours. According to the company, the car carried four people, their luggage and 50 kg of extra equipment, and the air conditioning stayed on throughout. Outside temperatures were between 13 and 20°C.

The result beat the i6's official CLTC rating of 780 km by about 4%, with average consumption of 11.8 kWh per 100 km. The livestream showed the state of charge reaching 0% at 811.4 km, and Li Auto says the car was still able to move at that point, at limited speed.

Why the number needs context

The conditions were close to ideal for an EV. The route used city roads with 40–80 km/h limits, where electric cars are at their most efficient, and the weather was mild. Range drops at motorway speeds, where air resistance rises sharply, and in cold weather, when the battery and cabin need heating.

China's CLTC cycle is also known to be generous. CarNewsChina puts the i6's European WLTP figure at about 632–640 km, and real motorway range would be lower still. So the test shows how efficient the car can be in town, not what a long highway trip would look like.

A new battery without CATL

The refreshed i6 is also a supply-chain story. Li Auto has moved away from CATL for this model. It now uses its own Lian Shan battery design, with cells made by CALB and Sunwoda and packs assembled in Li Auto's own plant. CEO Li Xiang credits the range gain to that battery plus in-house drive motors and silicon carbide power electronics. Li Auto has also pledged that Lian Shan packs will never catch fire on their own or in a crash, and promises a new car if one does; we covered that lifetime battery guarantee earlier.

The i6 is set to reach Europe in the first quarter of 2027, badged as the Li 6.

What it means for buyers

Livestreamed range runs are becoming a marketing tool in China, and they are useful as a sign of efficiency. For a fair comparison between cars, though, look at the WLTP or EPA figure and at independent motorway tests. If you're weighing battery chemistries, our explainer on LFP vs NMC batteries covers the trade-offs, and our EV battery care guide explains how to keep range from fading over the years.