XPeng's first batch of right-hand-drive G9L models rolled off the line at its Guangzhou factory and will be shipped to Australia, covering 64 countries and regions; in August, exports reached 8,125 units, up 169.22% year on year, while exports in the first eight months totaled 49,424 units, accounting for 20.33% of total deliveries. Li Auto became an official partner of the 2026 Solheim Cup, confirmed that the i6 will be named Li 6 overseas, plans to start sales in Europe in the fourth quarter, and will announce details of its European business at the Paris Motor Show in October. The two companies' regional strategies diverge: Li Auto prioritizes pure electric vehicles in Europe and focuses on range-extended vehicles in the Middle East and Central Asia, while XPeng is using right-hand-drive models to accelerate deliveries.
Chinese NEV makers' overseas expansion saw two parallel developments in mid-September. XPeng's first batch of right-hand-drive G9L models rolled off the line at its Guangzhou factory and are about to be shipped to Australia; Li Auto, meanwhile, used the 2026 Solheim Cup golf event to kick off its European market promotion and confirmed that its battery-electric SUV i6 will be named Li 6 overseas. One is advancing through product delivery cadence, while the other is paving the way with brand preheating, and differences in regional product strategy have also emerged.
XPeng: Right-hand-drive G9L rolls off line, export growth outpaces overall deliveries
XPeng announced on Weibo on September 11 that the first batch of right-hand-drive G9L models had rolled off the line at its Guangzhou factory and were about to be shipped to Australia. The company said the model will enter 64 countries and regions worldwide. The start of production of the right-hand-drive version means Australia, the UK and some Southeast Asian markets are included in the first batch of G9L exports.
The G9L is XPeng's large five-seat flagship SUV. It made its global debut and opened pre-sales in China on August 11, with a starting price of 259,800 yuan, and is offered in both battery-electric and range-extender versions based on an 800V platform. The battery-electric version has a CLTC range of up to 755 km; the range-extender version has a CLTC battery-electric range of 435 km and a combined range of 1,602 km. The vehicle shares core platform technology with the six-seat GX launched in May, and together they form XPeng's flagship SUV lineup, competing in the Chinese market with the Li Auto L7 and AITO M7. XPeng previously disclosed that the vehicle took three years to develop, with road testing covering 26 countries and regions and more than 6.74 million km cumulatively.
XPeng further announced on September 14 that the G9L will officially launch in China at 7 p.m. on September 17. Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said on the August earnings call that the G9L would launch in September and begin deliveries the same month.
Export data supports this cadence. According to data compiled by CnEVPost, XPeng exported 8,125 vehicles in August, up 169.22% year on year, but down 16.24% from 9,700 in July. In the first eight months of this year, cumulative exports reached 49,424 vehicles, up 99.94% year on year, already exceeding the 45,014 vehicles for all of 2025 and accounting for 20.33% of total deliveries in the same period.
By comparison, XPeng's overall deliveries in August were 39,107 vehicles, up 3.71% year on year and 2.84% month on month; cumulative deliveries in the first eight months were 243,111 vehicles, down 10.49% year on year. He Xiaopeng said on the earnings call that the average selling price of overseas models exceeds 40,000 euros, and overseas deliveries of the Mona L03 are expected to begin in the fourth quarter, potentially driving quarterly overseas sales above 40,000 vehicles. With the launch of new models such as the G9L and Mona L05, XPeng aims to achieve monthly sales of more than 60,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, about 53% higher than the August delivery level.
Li Auto: Building preheat with sports event, European business details await Paris auto show
Li Auto announced on September 10 that it became an official partner of the 2026 Solheim Cup and confirmed that its battery-electric SUV i6 will be named Li 6 overseas. The women's team golf event was held in the Netherlands from September 7 to 13. Li Auto provided 20 Li i6 vehicles as official courtesy cars for players and VIP guests, and displayed the 2025 Li Mega battery-electric MPV in the fan village. The company called the partnership its official starting point for entering Europe.
According to Li Auto, it will announce its global product lineup, European business plan and future product information at the Paris auto show in October, and the European version of the Li i6 will make its auto show debut under the name Li 6. Wu Zuomin, head of international business, said the company hopes to use the i6's experience in China and its debut at the Paris auto show to bring smart electric vehicles to European families. On its August 26 earnings call, Li Auto said it planned to begin selling the i6 in Europe in the fourth quarter, with the model serving as the precursor to its entry into the European market. The September 10 statement did not disclose the first batch of sales countries, local pricing or sales channel arrangements.
Li Auto's overseas expansion has already seen concrete moves recently. On September 3, the all-new Li Auto L9 range-extender SUV was launched in Dubai, marking its first official vehicle sales in the Gulf region; it had previously been introduced in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the company reached a local assembly agreement with Kazakh auto group Allur. Li Auto plans to establish sales, delivery and after-sales service networks through a flexible combination of subsidiaries, dealers and exclusive distributors, based on the size and competitive landscape of each market.
On the delivery front, Li Auto delivered 37,679 vehicles in August, up 32.07% year on year, ending three consecutive months of year-on-year declines; cumulative deliveries in the first eight months were 261,619 vehicles, down 0.6% year on year.
Diverging regional strategies: Europe prioritizes BEVs, Middle East and Central Asia focus on EREVs
The two companies have differing orientations in regional product strategy. Li Auto has made clear that it will prioritize battery-electric models in Europe, while focusing on L-series range-extender models in the Middle East and Central Asia. XPeng's G9L offers both battery-electric and range-extender versions, but the start of production of its right-hand-drive version and its plan for 64 countries and regions point first to right-hand-drive markets such as Australia, the UK and parts of Southeast Asia.
Based on currently disclosed information, XPeng's overseas push relies on the production capacity and delivery milestones of specific models, with exports already accounting for more than 20% of total deliveries; Li Auto, by contrast, used a sports event partnership to complete its first brand exposure in the European market, while key commercial information such as product pricing, channels and first-batch countries will only become clear at the Paris auto show in October. The difference in their cadence also reflects Chinese automakers' resource allocation choices across different overseas regions and at different stages.
