On August 18th, a video of Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, treating truck drivers to a meal went viral online. In the video, Li Xiang stated that Li Auto i8 will start nationwide deliveries on August 20th, and he wanted to treat the truck drivers to a meal before the vehicles are shipped out.
Notably, during the banquet, Li Xiang also addressed a previous hot topic by toasting with drivers of Chenglong trucks. He mentioned that the earlier collision test had made many Chenglong users somewhat unhappy, adding, “There was clumsiness, but no intentional offense.” He also toasted with the truck drivers, saying, “Let’s clink glasses here, but in reality, we won’t collide—safety always comes first.”
It is understood that on the 29th of last month, Li Auto launched its first pure electric SUV, the Li Auto i8, at a launch event. During the event, Li Auto officially released a video of a collision between the Li Auto i8 and a Chenglong truck. In the video, the Chenglong truck’s wheels bounced, and its cab even separated from the cargo compartment, while the Li Auto i8 remained intact. This video immediately thrust the quality of the Li Auto i8 and Chenglong trucks into the spotlight of public opinion.
Subsequently, in response to the test, Chenglong Trucks issued multiple responses and released an infringement statement on July 31st. In the statement, Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. pointed out that Li Auto’s release of the head-on collision video with the Chenglong truck on July 29, 2025, constituted serious infringement, went beyond normal commercial competition, seriously misled and harmed the public’s right to know, and caused significant negative impacts on the brand and commercial reputation.
At that time, regarding the collision test, Li Auto stated that it was a simulation based on real-world traffic scenarios, fully entrusted to a professional third-party testing institution for certification. The test site, testing equipment, and the test truck randomly purchased from the market were all provided by the testing institution, with no specifications from Li Auto. It is understood that the third-party testing institution in question was China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI).
On August 6th, the incident came to a conclusion. Li Auto, CAERI, and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor released a “Joint Statement on the Incident Related to the Li Auto i8 Collision Test.” In the statement, Li Auto and CAERI apologized for the collision test. Li Auto stated: The purpose of the test was to verify and improve the passive safety performance of the Li Auto i8, and it was not aimed at evaluating the safety or quality performance of any other brand’s vehicles. Regarding the unintended involvement of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor’s Chenglong brand in public opinion disputes due to the test, there was insufficient anticipation of the potential brand association risks that the dissemination of relevant content might trigger, leading to the Chenglong brand being unnecessarily caught in negative public opinion, damaging its brand image, and causing misunderstandings among truck drivers and the public who have long supported and used Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor’s products. Li Auto hereby expresses its sincere apology. Li Auto had no intention of offending and never deliberately sought to question or insinuate the quality and safety of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor’s vehicles through this test.
CAERI, the third-party testing institution, stated: As the entrusted executing agency for this test, CAERI failed to promptly and clearly clarify to the public that the used Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Chenglong vehicle was only used as a “mobile barrier vehicle” meeting specific standard requirements, and the test itself was not, nor did it constitute, an evaluation of its product safety or quality performance. This led to the lack of key information and public misunderstanding. In terms of process control, CAERI did not fully anticipate and avoid potential risks caused by incomplete information release, and CAERI apologizes for this.
In response to the apologies from Li Auto and CAERI, Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor stated that as an important commercial and passenger vehicle business unit under Dongfeng Motor, it has always adhered to the corporate spirit of “self-reliance, innovation, unity, and dedication to the country and people,” and adheres to the quality policy of “high quality + reliability.” It will continue to strengthen key core technologies through continuous innovation, steadfastly improve products and services, create value for customers with better transportation solutions, and steadily promote high-quality enterprise development.
The joint statement from the three parties marked the conclusion of the collision incident. However, even though the three parties have moved past it, some netizens still couldn’t help but make jokes about the matter
