• The five-seat Li i6 comes in a single trim starting at RMB 249,800 ($35,020), 26.49 percent lower than the six-seat Li i8.
• Li Auto aims for the Li i6 to achieve stable monthly deliveries of 9,000 to 10,000 units this year.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) has launched the Li i6, its second pure-electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) following the Li i8, aiming to reverse declining sales.

The company officially rolled out the five-seat electric SUV today, offering only one trim starting at RMB 249,800 ($35,020).

Display and test drive vehicles for the Li i6 are now available at Li Auto stores, with deliveries commencing tomorrow.

The model represents Li Auto's latest effort in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, less than two months after the Li i8's launch.

The Li i8 was initially launched on July 29, but after disappointing performance, Li Auto relaunched the model on August 5 with price reductions.

The Li i6's starting price is RMB 90,000, or 26.49 percent, lower than the Li i8's current starting price of RMB 339,800.

Li Auto is offering customers purchasing the Li i6 by October 31 limited-time benefits worth RMB 35,000, including a RMB 10,000 cash discount, an air suspension system valued at RMB 15,000, an in-car refrigerator valued at RMB 5,000, and quiet electric doors valued at RMB 5,000.

The company holds high hopes for the Li i6 following months of sustained declines in monthly deliveries.

Li Auto aims for stable monthly deliveries of 6,000 Li i8s and 9,000-10,000 Li i6s by year-end, founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang said on Weibo on September 1.

Including the Li Mega electric MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), Li Auto's overall battery electric vehicle (BEV) deliveries will stabilize at 18,000-20,000 units monthly, Li said at the time.

Li i6's dimensions are 4,950 mm in length, 1,935 mm in width, and 1,655 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,000 mm.

By comparison, the six-seat Li i8 has larger dimensions: 5,085 mm in length, 1,960 mm in width, and 1,740 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,050 mm.

Like the Li i8, the Li i6 features styling distinct from mainstream SUVs, with Li Auto positioning it as a new form of five-seat SUV.

The Li i6 comes standard with a single-motor rear-wheel-drive powertrain, delivering a peak power of 250 kW (335 horsepower) and peak torque of 425 Nm. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds.

Li Auto offers customers the option to upgrade to a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system for an additional RMB 20,000. This powertrain delivers 400 kW of power, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.

The vehicle is equipped with an 87.3-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, providing a CLTC range of 720 kilometers. The all-wheel-drive variant achieves a range of 660 kilometers.

The battery supports 5C fast charging, adding 500 kilometers of range in just 10 minutes.

The Li i6 comes standard with the free Li Auto AD Max smart driving system, powered by Nvidia's Drive Thor-U chip with 700 TOPS computing power.

It incorporates ATL LiDAR provided by Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) to enable enhanced driver assistance features.

The Li i6 launch comes as Li Auto faces intensifying competition in the extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) market it once dominated, while the Li i8 has seen lackluster performance.

The company's mainstay models remain its L-series EREVs -- the Li L6, Li L7, Li L8, and Li L9 -- though the Li Mega electric MPV is beginning to contribute more volume.

Li Auto delivered 28,529 vehicles in August, a 40.72 percent year-on-year decline, marking the third consecutive month of significant year-on-year contraction, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

From January to August, Li Auto delivered 263,198 vehicles, down 8.64 percent year-on-year.

($1 = RMB 7.1334)