Li Auto crashed an i8 into a truck to prove safety — the truck maker sued instead

On July 29, 2025, Li Auto played a crash test video at its i8 electric SUV launch event. A 2.6-ton Li i8 collided head-on with an 8-ton Dongfeng Chenglong truck at a relative speed of 100 km/h. The truck's cabin separated from its cargo box and all four wheels left the ground; the i8's A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and door beams showed no deformation, and all nine airbags deployed. Li Auto marketed it as 'winning against an 8-ton truck.'

Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor, the truck manufacturer, objected immediately. The company stated that Li Auto's test video used its Chenglong truck 'without authorisation and distorted the propagation' of the crash, violating the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the Advertising Law, and the Civil Code. CAERI, the testing institute, clarified that the test was 'not a regulatory entry test' but a commissioned development-validation experiment.

The public raised additional questions: Was the truck modified or lightened? Why was a domestic truck chosen rather than a Mercedes or Volvo? Was the test designed to demolish the other vehicle for dramatic effect? On August 6, after nine days of escalating controversy, Li Auto, CAERI, and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor issued a joint statement. Li Auto and CAERI formally apologised for 'insufficient estimation of brand association risk' and the brand image harm caused to Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor.

Li Auto and CAERI apologized jointly after nine days, but the i8 launch was overtaken by controversy over the unauthorized test.

The test was marketing disguised as validation: CAERI said it was not regulatory — showing it at a product launch gave a commissioned stunt the authority of a standard.

The truck choice was the inciting decision: crashing a domestic truck rather than an international brand made Li Auto look like a bully, not a brand proving a safety standard.

Incomplete disclosure created the vacuum: without test parameters — truck modifications, weight distribution, impact angle — the audience filled the gap with suspicion.

The apology took nine days: Dongfeng Liuzhou's legal team mobilised, state media weighed in, and the PR war consumed the i8 launch's earned media.

A safety test at a product launch is a marketing claim. Demolish another company's product without consent or full data and you get a lawsuit instead of a headline.