Li Auto has begun road testing the facelifted L9 extended-range SUV ahead of an expected 2026 launch, with a fully camouflaged prototype spotted undergoing evaluation in China.

The road tests come during a period of declining sales for the automaker. Deliveries in November 2025 reached 33,181 units, slightly higher than the previous month but more than 30% below the same period in 2024. This marked the sixth straight month of year-on-year decline. As of November 30, 2025, the company’s cumulative deliveries totalled 1,495,969 units.

Li Auto’s third-quarter 2025 financial results recorded revenue of 27.4 billion CNY (c. $3.87 billion) and a net loss of 624 million CNY (c. $88.3 million), reversing a long period of profitability. The company’s i-series pure-electric models have yet to offset slowing L-series demand, with the i8 levelling at roughly 5,700 monthly units in September and October and the i6 entering the market with lukewarm reception at a starting price of 249,800 CNY (c. $35,300).

Source: Li Auto

The facelifted L9 prototype appears to retain the overall body profile of the current model while adopting a shorter front overhang, a thicker D-pillar, and flush window frames designed to reduce drag. The updated model is expected to extend vehicle length to about 5.3 meters, compared with the current 5,218-mm body and 3,105-mm wheelbase.

Although the prototype’s cabin resembles the existing layout, the production model is expected to introduce significant interior changes, including a new seamless front-row display and higher-performance in-house chips for cockpit and assisted-driving systems.

A major upgrade under testing is a 73-kWh 5C-rate battery, replacing the current 52-kWh pack to improve pure-electric range and charge rates. The facelift is also expected to feature a new generation of range extender and motors, a fully active suspension system, and rear-wheel steering. Spy images showing 295-mm rear tires point to a heavier vehicle resulting from the larger battery and longer body.

In addition to hardware improvements, Li Auto plans to equip the 2026 models, including the L9 facelift with its self-developed M100 smart driving chip, set for commercial deployment next year. The M100 is an AI inference chip designed alongside Li Auto’s software system and compiler, delivering at least three times the performance of current high-end chips at similar costs. It will serve as the core of Li Auto’s next-generation autonomous driving platform based on the Visual-Language-Action (VLA) model.

Pricing for the top configuration of the facelifted L9 is reportedly planned to remain at roughly 439,800 CNY (c. $62,200), aligned with the current model. Li Auto has not published a formal launch schedule or specifications for the updated SUV.

The facelift enters a Chinese large-SUV segment increasingly defined by larger bodies, higher battery capacity, and faster charging. New models from several domestic competitors exceed 5.2 meters in length and use battery packs greater than 60 kWh, with pure-electric ranges above 300 km (186 miles) and charging times under 20 minutes.

Li Auto reached its 2025 peak monthly volume in May, when the L7, L8, and L9 together exceeded 20,000 units. By October, sales of the L8 and L9 had each fallen to around 2,100 units. The company’s 2025 L-series refresh focused mainly on software, leaving the new hardware-focused facelift to play a larger role in efforts to reverse the downward trend.

The 2026 L9 will be central to whether Li Auto can rebuild competitiveness in the high-end extended-range SUV category as the segment advances rapidly in battery and chassis technology and sees extremely competitive models coming from Leapmotor and AITO.

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