The Chinese EV maker Li Auto announced that it shipped 29,025 vehicles in October, marking an 8.63% year-on-year decline. This figure is also down 8.78% from September’s 31,817 units and represents the lowest monthly total since February, when the company delivered 26,421 cars. Over the first ten months of the year, cumulative deliveries reached 322,461, a 1.96% drop compared with the same period last year, widening the decline that stood at 1.25% after nine months. Since its inception, Li Auto has handed over 1,862,676 vehicles to customers across China.
New model rollout fuels the sales strategy
In October the automaker moved more than 3,000 units of the newly refreshed Li Mega MPV. The latest generation of the flagship multi-purpose vehicle was launched on September 2 with a modest price cut and a bundle of hardware upgrades intended to invigorate demand. Just a month later, on October 28, Li Auto introduced the 2026 Li i6, a five-seat battery-electric SUV equipped with the company’s in-house Mach M100 assisted-driving chip, a new 96-kWh Lianshan 5C lithium-iron-phosphate battery, and upgraded cabin amenities. The i6 keeps its official starting price at 249,800 yuan (about $37,210), but buyers who place orders before November 30 receive an introductory rebate that reduces the price to 239,800 yuan. The rear-wheel-drive version now boasts a CLTC range of 780 kilometres (approximately 485 miles).
Li Auto’s product-line head, Li Xinyang, stated on October 30 that total i6 production had already reached 200,000 units. The company plans to lift monthly output to 20,000 units in November, with a further increase slated for December. Current order lead times hover around seven to eight weeks, a timeline that will tighten as the new production ramps come online.
In-house technology and network expansion underpin growth
October also saw Li Auto broaden its portfolio of self-developed components. The firm rolled out the Lianshan battery, an accompanying Lianshan electric-drive system**, and a new battery-warranty programme, reinforcing its strategy of internalising core technologies. A major over-the-air update, OTA 9.2, is scheduled for November and will introduce the upgraded Mach VLA 2.5 processor together with refined AI-driven cockpit features.
On the retail front, Li Auto’s footprint now includes 481 stores across 159 Chinese cities, supplemented by 527 service centres and authorized shops in 217 cities. The charging infrastructure continues to grow, with the network reaching 4,206 super-charging stations equipped with 23,163 charging stalls—an addition of 18 stations and 86 stalls since the end of September.
All of these elements—new model introductions, in-house power-train innovations, and a rapidly expanding dealer and charging network—form the backbone of Li Auto’s effort to reverse the recent delivery dip and stake a stronger claim in China’s fiercely competitive electric-vehicle market.
