The Li Auto L9 Livis is the range-topping flagship trim of the all-new L9, and on a dealer-floor walkaround in a striking dark-green-over-titanium-gold two-tone finish, it's easy to see why Li Auto positions it as a genuine flagship rather than just a spec bump. The Livis pairs a 420 km EV-range extended-range powertrain with what Li Auto calls the world's first production fully by-wire chassis — steer-by-wire, four-wheel steering, and electromechanical braking, all backed by an 800V fully-active suspension system. Priced from $74,940 in China, the Livis sits about $7,340 above the standard L9 Ultra, and Li Auto has confirmed an international version is on track for a Q3 2026 debut, starting in Central Asia and the Middle East — now only weeks away.
Performance & Specs
The Livis uses Li Auto's third-generation extended-range system, producing a combined 420 kW (563 hp) and 710 Nm of torque for a 4.9-second 0-100 km/h time and a 200 km/h top speed. A 72.7 kWh battery supporting 5C charging delivers 420 km of pure-electric CLTC range, with the range-extender engine pushing total combined range to 1,650 km — among the longest figures in this segment. The headline engineering story, though, is the chassis: a full by-wire system combining steer-by-wire, four-wheel steering, and electromechanical braking (EMB), paired with an 800V fully-active suspension that Li Auto says can generate over 10,000 Newtons of single-wheel lifting force with no need for anti-roll bars, responding in milliseconds.
| Powertrain | EREV (3rd-generation range-extender) |
|---|---|
| Power | 420 kW (563 hp) |
| Torque | 710 Nm |
| 0–100 km/h | 4.9 s |
| Battery | 72.7 kWh (5C) |
| Range | 420 km EV / 1,650 km total |
| POWERTRAIN TYPE | Extended-range electric (EREV) |
|---|---|
| HORSEPOWER | 563 hp (420 kW) |
| TOP SPEED | 200 km/h |
| BATTERY | 72.7 kWh (5C fast-charging) |
| ELECTRIC RANGE | 420 km (CLTC) |
| COMBINED RANGE | 1,650 km (CLTC) |
Dimensions & Practicality
| Length | 5,255 mm |
|---|---|
| Height | 1,810 mm |
| Wheelbase | 3,125 mm |
| Turning radius | 5.3 m |
At 5,255 mm long on a 3,125 mm wheelbase, the L9 Livis carries 545 litres of cargo space and a 2+2+2 six-seat captain's-chair layout. The four-wheel-steering system tightens the turning radius to just 5.3 metres, unusually agile for a full-size SUV and a genuine everyday-usability advantage over rivals without rear steering — tight underground parking garages and U-turns that would be awkward in most three-row SUVs become straightforward. A 65-litre fuel tank backs up the extended-range system for the full 1,650 km combined figure, and the range-extender engine is tuned to run only as a generator, never directly driving the wheels.
Charging & Battery
The Livis's 72.7 kWh battery supports 5C DC fast charging, good for a 10-80% top-up in around 10 minutes — genuinely quick for a battery this size, and a meaningful upgrade over the previous-generation L9's charging speed. That combination of fast charging and a large pack is what lets the Livis run 420 km on electricity alone before the range-extender engine needs to contribute, a EREV-leading figure in this price class.
| BATTERY | 72.7 kWh, 5C-rated |
|---|---|
| DC 10-80% TIME | ~10 min |
| FUEL TANK | 65 L |
Design & Interior
The Livis trim is available in four exclusive two-tone paint schemes, and the walkaround car wore the dark-green-over-titanium-gold combination, paired with standard 22-inch wheels — a genuinely distinctive look next to the more conservative solid colors offered on the lower, cheaper L9 trims. A chrome beltline strip runs the length of the body, separating the two paint tones cleanly at the window line. Inside, the cabin centers on a 29-inch 6K panoramic display and a 33-speaker premium audio system. Rear passengers get their own climate and comfort control panel between the second-row captain's chairs, with touch controls for temperature, a folding rear screen, a centre-console refrigerator (demonstrated running at -2°C in this walkaround), privacy shade, light-blocking glass, and separate roof and window sunshades — all confirmed running in English on the car's own screen, a language switch the reviewer demonstrated at the very start of the walkaround. Front and rear door panels use a cream-and-sage two-tone leather treatment that echoes the exterior's paint split, rather than a single flat color across the whole cabin.
Technology & Features
The Livis runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 cockpit platform alongside its dual Mach M100 autonomous-driving chips, giving it separate, dedicated compute for infotainment and for driving. Four LiDAR units feed the perception stack for what Li Auto describes as a "next-generation smart cockpit" built around embodied-intelligence software, layered on top of the 29-inch panoramic display.
Safety & ADAS
With four LiDAR sensors and 2,560 TOPS of dedicated compute across its dual Mach M100 chips, the Livis carries one of the more sensor- and compute-dense ADAS packages in this price segment — Li Auto's own comparison claims roughly triple the compute of an Nvidia Thor-U-based system. The full by-wire chassis, including electromechanical braking, also feeds directly into the car's active safety systems, allowing faster automated braking and steering responses than a conventional mechanically-linked setup.
| ADAS LEVEL | L2+ (4 LiDAR, by-wire chassis integration) |
|---|---|
| ADAS COMPUTE | Dual Mach M100 chips, 2,560 TOPS |
Pricing & Availability
The all-new, third-generation L9 launched in China on May 15, 2026 in two trims: Ultra at $67,600 and Livis at $74,940 — itself a 9% cut from the Livis's original $80,300 pre-sale price announced in February. Deliveries in China began that same week, on May 17. Li Auto has confirmed an International Exclusive Version is on track for Q3 2026, launching first in Central Asia and the Middle East with what the company describes as comprehensive localization, though any European or North American timeline remains entirely unconfirmed as of July 2026.
How It Compares
Against the AITO M9 and ZEEKR 9X, the Livis trades outright horsepower for the longest combined range in the group by a wide margin — 1,650 km beats the AITO M9's 1,405 km and dwarfs the ZEEKR 9X's 1,200 km. Only the NIO ES9, a pure-BEV rival, costs more, and it can't match the Livis's road-trip range at all since it has no engine to fall back on when the battery runs low, a real consideration for buyers without reliable access to fast chargers on longer trips. The Livis's real differentiator against all three is its fully by-wire chassis — none of these rivals currently offer four-wheel steering combined with electromechanical braking in production form.
- World-first production by-wire chassis with four-wheel steering gives it a 5.3 m turning radius unmatched by rivals this size
- 1,650 km combined range and 420 km EV-only range lead the segment
- Q3 2026 international launch is now weeks away, starting in Central Asia and the Middle East
- 563 hp trails rivals like the AITO M9 and ZEEKR 9X on outright power by a wide margin
- No confirmed European or North American launch date yet, only the Q3 Central Asia/Middle East rollout
The Li Auto L9 Livis isn't chasing horsepower bragging rights — it's chasing genuine engineering differentiation, and the world-first by-wire chassis with four-wheel steering delivers exactly that. Combined with class-leading range and a turning radius that makes a 5.2-metre SUV feel genuinely manageable in tight spaces, the Livis is a compelling flagship pick for buyers who value chassis technology and range over outright power. With international export just weeks away, this is a car worth watching closely outside China too.
