Li Auto held a launch event in Dubai on September 4, 2026 to introduce the new L9 to the United Arab Emirates, marking the company's first showroom entry into the Gulf region. The event puts Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI; HKG: 2015) alongside established luxury SUV brands in one of the world's most prestige-conscious car markets.

The new L9 goes on sale in the UAE in two trims. The Ultra starts at 319,900 AED (around $87,100), while the range-topping Livis starts at 359,900 AED (around $98,010). Al Fahim Motors, a subsidiary of the Al Fahim Group, has been named the exclusive UAE distributor and will handle sales and after-sales support for the model.

The UAE debut builds on a partnership Li Auto struck with Al Fahim Motors in April 2026, when the automaker also signed Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors as its dealer in Saudi Arabia. Both agreements cover the company's extended-range L-series lineup, including the L6, L7, L8 and L9, which Li Auto's head of international business, Wu Zuomin, has said suits the needs of Middle Eastern buyers.

Under the hood, the new L9 carries Li Auto's third-generation extended-range electric powertrain, combining a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 156 hp with a dual-motor electric drive system producing a combined 571 hp and 710 N·m of torque. The setup drives all four wheels and gets the SUV from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds, with a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Battery-only range is rated at 420 km (261 miles) on the CLTC cycle, while combined range with the range extender running reaches 1,650 km (1,025 miles) on the same cycle. The 72.7 kWh ternary lithium battery, supplied by CATL, sits on an 800V architecture capable of 5C charging, with a peak DC fast-charging rate of 420 kW that takes the pack from 10 to 80 percent in 10 minutes.

The two trims are mechanically similar but diverge on chassis hardware and driver-assistance tech. Both get steer-by-wire assistance and rear-wheel steering with up to 7 degrees of angle, but the Livis adds an 800V active suspension and electromechanical brake-by-wire (EMB) on top of the shared air suspension, giving it what Li Auto calls a fully wire-controlled chassis. The Ultra runs a single Mach M100 chip for its Li AD Max driver-assistance system, rated at 1,280 TOPS with one HESAI lidar, while the Livis doubles up to two Mach M100 chips for 2,560 TOPS and four lidar units under the Li AD Ultra badge.

Inside, both versions share a six-seat, 2+2+2 layout with a 29-inch, 6K dual front display running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 chipset (Max tier for Ultra, Elite tier for Livis), along with heated, ventilated and massaging seats across the first two rows and a 33-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system.

The L9 measures 5,255 mm long, 2,000 mm wide and 1,810 mm tall (207 x 79 x 71 inches) on a 3,125 mm (123-inch) wheelbase, with curb weight ranging from 2,755 kg for the Ultra to 2,785 kg for the Livis. Li Auto backs the vehicle with a five-year or 100,000 km (62,000-mile) warranty on the car and an eight-year or 160,000 km (99,400-mile) warranty on the battery pack.

Li Auto calibrated the new L9 specifically for Gulf conditions, tuning charging performance and cabin thermal management for high heat and dust exposure. The UAE cars ship with an Arabic-language interface as standard; voice-assistant support currently works in English, with Arabic voice recognition planned before the end of 2026. The vehicles also support local charging-protocol standards and localized mapping data for UAE roads.

The Dubai launch completes Li Auto's Gulf market rollout for now, following the new L9's introduction in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan earlier in 2026 as part of a Central Asia push that began in 2025 alongside entries into the Caucasus and North Africa. Al Fahim and Li Auto plan to open more than two official retail and service centers in the UAE, with the first opening in downtown Dubai this month. Li Auto is also set to make its first appearance at a major European auto show at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, where it plans to showcase electric models from its separate i-series and Li Mega lineup rather than the extended-range L-series sold in the Gulf.

The Middle East push is part of a broader overseas expansion Li Auto accelerated through 2026, which also added distributors in Cambodia, Laos, Macau and Myanmar for the Asia-Pacific region. Li Auto delivered 95,142 vehicles globally in the first quarter of 2026, up 2.5 percent year over year, and the company has said roughly 10,000 of its vehicles were already circulating in Central Asia through parallel exports before it set up an official distribution network there.

Back home, the new L9 launched in China on May 15, 2026 at 459,800 CNY (c. $68,500) for the Ultra and 509,800 CNY (c. $75,950) for the Livis. China wholesale volumes for the L9 dropped to just 452 units in April 2026 as the outgoing model wound down ahead of the refresh, before climbing back to 6,106 units in June and settling at 4,158 units in July.

Whether Gulf buyers accustomed to cheap gasoline and V8-powered luxury SUVs take to an extended-range electric alternative may hinge as much on Al Fahim's showroom presence and service network as on the L9's spec sheet.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7113 CNY as of September 4, 2026.