A Chinese EREV Tried To Drive 1 Million Kilometers. Here

• The Li Auto L9 is a full-sized luxury EREV crossover sold in China. 
• Faker Autogroup is in Russia, and they bought an L9 with the intention of taking it to 1 million kilometers, or 621,000 miles.
• The L9’s gas engine died at 307,000 km (190,000 miles), due to the timing chain tensioner failing and destroying the engine. 

Chinese cars are exciting, but their long-term durability is still kind of a question mark. Sure, China’s no stranger to making vehicles in general, and even exporting them, but let’s not pretend like cars like the Chery QQ or Geely King Kong are anywhere in the same realm of what these brands are doing today. Early Chinese cars are trash. New ones are far more impressive—but we don’t know how they’ll hold up.

But we’re starting to learn, including from the varioius global markets where these EVs, hybrids and now extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are sold. And stories and anecdotes from regular-degular owners are making their way out onto the interwebs.

While stumbling through Instagram Reels, I discovered that the algorithm figured me out. It gave me recommendations of what looks to be a Zeekr dealership service station in Belarus. It also works on grey-imported EV and PHEV models from China that have made their way to Belarus and nearby Russia, including Li Auto.

In Russia, you’ll find Faker Autogroup, a car dealership that also acts as a car content creator. Its latest undertaking is that of an EREV; the group purchased a Li Auto L9 extended-range-EV luxury crossover, with the goal of racking up 1 million kilometers, or 621,000 miles.

I don’t speak Russian, but YouTube’s auto-translate caption feature comes in handy here. Unfortunately, the car made it about 307,000 kilometers, or 190,000 miles, before it broke down—and the gas engine is to blame, not the EV part of it. 

The failure is pretty catastrophic, with the engine’s timing chain tensioner failing, allowing the pistons to crash into the head and ruining pretty much everything. The vehicle’s valve cover and cylinder head were full of pieces of camshaft and crumbles that used to be valves. It’s pretty gnarly.

For those not in the know, Li Auto is one of China’s biggest brands that you’ve likely never heard of. Perhaps you’ve seen the futuristic-looking Li Auto Mega van, a huge minivan that at one point was the fastest charging EV on the planet. That van may be cool, but the brand’s bread-and-butter sales volume comes from its line of luxury SUVs.

These big vehicles are EREVs—an EV platform with a built-in gas engine that serves as a generator to recharge the battery. For Li Auto, the motivating force for these cars are its sizable electric motors. The 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder can turn on as needed to extend the range when the vehicle’s battery is depleted.

Unlike a traditional PHEV, the Li Auto’s engine isn’t connected to the wheels at all. For the Li Auto L9, the vehicle is powered by a dual motor system good for 449 horsepower, fed by a 44.5-kilowatt-hour battery. Li Auto says the L9 is good for 174 miles of full EV range on China’s CLTC testing cycle, or a total of 877 miles when used in tandem with the car’s 1.5-liter turbocharged gas engine. 

The L9’s engine failure is pretty catastrophic, but owners still seem to stand behind the car. The car’s engine has already been replaced, and it’s back in service, already racking up another 24,000 miles.

I am inclined to think this is still very positive for Li Auto, too. This very new vehicle traveled 190,000 miles, although it’s hard to figure out just how much was done electric-only (the L9 has no menu setting to show which percentage of miles is EV only), the owner says that the L9 tends to stay in engine-on mode during its long freeway stints.

It’s been a while since I’ve messed around with used, broken cars, but I’ve cut my teeth on more than a few broken-down cars. My last project car, coincidentally an EREV, was a first-generation Chevrolet Volt. With only 147,000 miles, the car’s engine had overheated to the point where it had warped the cylinder head and engine block, meaning it too was in need of a new gas engine. To me, it seems like Li Auto’s engine durability and reliability efforts feel like the industry average. Also, unlike a broken gas-powered car, the Li Auto L9 can still drive on electric power.

I love videos like this. Through the magic of the World Wide Web and automatic translation services, I’ve learned a lot just about how these things are made and what could later become common failure points for EV models. If the U.S. does get Chinese cars, this tells me that they probably won’t miss a beat when they’re on our roads. 

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com