Li Auto has set October 20 for its Power Day technology event, landing eight days before the October 28 launch of the 2026 Li i6 — the first model to pair an in-house 5C battery with the company's Mach assisted-driving chip.

The event starts at 7:30 pm Beijing time. The company announced the date Monday but has not disclosed which technologies or performance metrics will be presented.

What did Li Xiang say about suppliers?

Founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang addressed the strategy directly on Weibo, saying deeper automaker research into core battery technology benefits both industry and consumers. In-house development can coexist with supplier partnerships, he argued.

"What we do ourselves and what we do with partners are choices that vary at different stages. There is only 1 criterion: which approach is better for users," Li wrote.

He traced the decision back to 2020, when Li Auto chose to develop batteries in-house while keeping its existing suppliers on board. Existing partners remain partners, he said.

On September 28, Li had already made clear the strategy is not about cutting out specific suppliers. He thanked CATL for its support in jointly developing batteries for the Li One and Li Mega.

How deep does the vertical push go?

Li Auto aims to integrate battery cells, packs, battery management systems (BMS — the electronics governing cell performance and safety), thermal management, electric drive systems and vehicle controls. The stated goals are safety, performance and life cycle.

The company is also running its Lianshan quality monitoring system, connecting data across upstream materials, cell manufacturing, pack production and vehicle use. That enables cell traceability and early detection of quality issues.

Production comes through a joint venture with Sunwoda, established in 2025, with each side holding a 50% stake. In-house batteries are already fitted in the Li L8, Li L6 and Li i8, per a September 7 statement, with plans to extend them across the entire lineup. In-house cell development began in 2020, spanning 5C cells, packs and BMS.

What does this change for the supply chain?

The debate over who does what — automaker or battery supplier — is live in China. CNII, a media outlet affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, wrote in a September 22 commentary that adding suppliers and pursuing in-house development are normal market activities, and should not be framed as confrontation between automakers and battery makers.

For CATL and other cell makers, Li Auto's answer is: both. Supplier volumes continue while the automaker builds its own stack for key models. The Sunwoda JV keeps a Tier 1 supplier (a company supplying the OEM directly) inside the tent, at 50/50.

The sales backdrop

Li Auto delivered 31,817 vehicles in September, down 6.29% year-on-year. First nine-month deliveries totaled 293,436, down 1.25%. The i6 launch is the near-term volume lever.

What to watch next: Power Day on October 20 for the undisclosed technical specifics, the i6 launch on October 28, and China deliveries of the SUV from early November. The capacity and performance numbers behind the 5C cells are the claims that need verifying against actual production.