Li Auto Widens Its Home Sub-Brand: The 5,225mm i9 BEV Flagship SUV Lands in September

Li Auto used a July 9, 2026 teaser drop to confirm what CEO Li Xiang has spent the last twelve months hinting at: the Home badge, so far reserved for the MEGA MPV, is becoming a full sub-brand — and the i9 all-electric SUV is the second product wearing it. Slated for a September 2026 launch, the i9 is Li Auto’s largest BEV to date and its most direct swing at the premium family-EV bracket that XPeng, NIO, and Zeekr have re-priced during H1.

Key Highlights

The i9 measures 5,225 mm long on a 3,168 mm wheelbase, sits on Li Auto’s next-generation 800V architecture, and pairs with a CATL third-generation Qilin pack. Peak charging is rated at 5C — good for over 400 km of added range in ten minutes — while CLTC combined range clears 800 km. A dual-motor AWD layout delivers north of 400 kW and a 0-100 km/h sprint in the low-3-second window. The chassis pairs dual-chamber air suspension, dual-valve CDC dampers, four-wheel steering, and Li Auto’s own steer-by-wire underpinnings. Two Mach 100 ADAS chips supply 2,560 combined TOPS and feed a solid-state roof LiDAR plus a full sensor-fusion stack cleared for highway, urban, and parking Navigation on Autopilot.

Why It Matters

The i9 is not just another new SUV. It is the piece that turns Home from a MEGA nameplate into a family-first sub-brand — the way Zeekr sits under Geely and Denza sits under BYD. That structural bet, layered on Li Auto’s ongoing pivot toward pure BEV alongside its EREV cash cows, is the real story of this teaser. For international EV buyers reading this from the outside, it signals that Chinese brands are no longer treating BEV as a hedge against range-extended trims. Deeper spec context, including the segment re-pricing map and the full teaser gallery, sits in iEVChina’s full coverage of the Li Auto i9 debut.

What’s Next

Li Auto has not disclosed pricing, but the MEGA-derived architecture and Home badging line up with a top-trim window of RMB 400,000-500,000 (roughly USD 55,200-68,970 at RMB 7.25 per USD). September is the target on-sale month; full trim spec, colorway ladder, and the six-seat interior reveal are expected in the two weeks preceding the launch event. For the segment as a whole, the i9’s arrival closes the loop on Li Auto’s BEV ladder — i6, i8, i9 — and adds real pressure on XPeng G9, NIO EL8, Zeekr 9X, and AITO M9 to move on price, spec, or both before Q4.

Edited for madeinchinanews.com

Source: toutiao.com / autohome.com.cn / sina.com