Li Auto unveils Lianshan battery, 2026 i6 to debut with 780 km range and fire replacement pledge

According to figures released at the event, the 2026 i6 will have a CLTC range of 780 km with the Lianshan pack, 8% more than the current model. Li Auto also focused on cold-weather performance, saying its own state-of-charge algorithm and vehicle waste-heat recovery system can add 30 km of range in winter, when lithium iron phosphate batteries often struggle to estimate remaining charge accurately. A later OTA update is planned to add about 10 km at -20°C, the company said.

On safety, Li Auto listed six defenses against underbody impacts and water intrusion. It said a single cell can withstand a 500-joule impact without catching fire, and that the pack can remain fire-free for 24 hours after a cell undergoes thermal runaway at 50°C. The company also said manufacturing data for each cell will be kept for 20 years and that vehicle-cloud computing can flag risks 72 hours before a potential fault worsens.

The most discussed commitment was compensation. Li Auto said it will replace a car with a new one if the vehicle catches fire spontaneously, and will cover the difference between the insured vehicle value and the actual collision claim if a crash leads to fire. The pledge covers the vehicle; the company did not mention personal injury in the presentation.

Li Auto does not make cells itself. Production is assigned to Sunwoda and CALB. The automaker said it has imposed stricter quality controls on those lines: minor defects that would normally be judged low-risk and acceptable are rejected under its project, and sporadic issues must be investigated and closed the same day.

Li Auto describes the battery as self-developed because its team leads material formulation, internal structure design and BMS algorithms, while pack assembly and testing take place in its own factory. The battery team was set up in 2015, when the company was developing the SEV micro EV; it later worked on high-voltage layout and battery management for extended-range vehicles, with CATL supplying cells, before moving into deeper cell development with the 2020 pure-electric platform and 5C fast-charging project.

The company also used the event to show two other parts of its Lianshan technology system. It has replaced externally supplied electric drive with a self-developed unit that removes traditional high-voltage terminals, shortens the current path to the chip to 3 mm and uses aviation-grade vibration sensors to detect gear anomalies, according to the presentation. Li Auto said it had more than 4,200 supercharging stations as of the event and plans to double its 5C charging guns to 8,300 before the Spring Festival in 2027, with an average of one station every 100 km on major highways.

Li Auto is not alone in moving into battery development. According to ifanr, Xiaomi has introduced its Longjia battery developed with Sunwoda and CALB, while XPeng and Leapmotor have also discussed self-developed batteries at technology events. Battery packs account for 40% to 60% of manufacturing cost in current pure electric cars, and CATL's net profit attributable to shareholders exceeded 43 billion yuan in the first half of this year, more than the combined profit of 15 major listed Chinese automakers in the same period, the report said.