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.