Li Auto has moved to clarify the purpose of a high-speed crash test video shown during the July 29 launch of its i8 SUV, after the footage sparked criticism from commercial truck manufacturer Chenglong.
In an August 3 post on Weibo, Li Auto said the test, conducted by a state-owned independent institute, was aimed at evaluating the SUV’s passive safety performance rather than the safety of the truck. The video depicted a frontal collision between the i8 and a heavy-duty Chenglong truck, with the SUV sustaining minimal deformation and the truck’s cab suffering significant damage.
Chenglong, a subsidiary of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor, questioned the relevance of the test conditions, describing them as unrepresentative of real-world traffic scenarios. Dongfeng Group, the truck maker’s parent company, also expressed concern over the portrayal of its brand in the footage.
According to Li Auto, the test was conducted by the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd., a nationally recognised authority, to assess the vehicle’s ability to withstand collisions with large vehicles — a scenario the automaker said is increasingly relevant on China’s highways.
The company reported that the i8’s key structural components remained intact, all airbags deployed, and the battery pack showed no leakage or thermal issues. The front doors unlocked automatically after impact. The Chenglong truck used was a second-hand vehicle modified as a movable crash barrier.
Li Auto expressed regret over the dispute, emphasising that it operates in a different market segment from Chenglong. The i8 was developed to meet the latest Chinese crash protection standards and benchmarked for top safety ratings under both C-NCAP Version 24 and C-IASI Version 23, undergoing over 100 crash scenarios during internal testing.