"Collision Controversy" Concludes? Li Auto Apologizes, But Winning Consumer Trust Is Challenging

On August 6th, Li Auto, China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI), and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. issued a joint statement regarding the collision test incident involving the Li Auto i8. Li Auto and CAERI each apologized to Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor. Although this week-long controversy seems to have reached a "conclusion," the impact of the event is far from over.

Li Auto: Reputation Damage and Intensified Sales Difficulties

Li Auto's brand reputation has taken a significant hit due to this incident. In the launch event video, the failure to blur the truck brand information led to Chenglong Trucks being dragged into negative public opinion. This behavior was seen by the public as "undermining" competitors, raising questions about Li Auto's business ethics. Many consumers expressed disappointment with Li Auto's actions, with some car owners stating directly that "Li Auto has become unfamiliar." The damage to the brand's reputation is likely to further reflect in its sales. In July, Li Auto's sales have already shown a sharp decline, with 30,700 new cars delivered, a year-on-year decrease of 39.74% and a month-on-month decrease of 16.28%, marking the first time it has fallen out of the top three new forces. This controversial crash test incident undoubtedly adds insult to injury to Li Auto's already severe sales situation. When purchasing a car, brand image is one of the important considerations for consumers.

Li Auto clearly stated in its announcement that the core purpose of conducting the crash test was to verify and optimize the passive safety performance of the Li Auto i8. The entire process was not aimed at evaluating the safety or product quality of any other brand’s vehicles. However, Li Auto also admitted that it failed to fully anticipate the potential brand association risks during the preparation and information dissemination stages, which inadvertently dragged the Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Chenglong brand into public controversy, resulting in negative impact on its brand image. In response, Li Auto expressed its sincere apologies and promised to improve its risk control mechanisms to prevent similar incidents from happening again. After the incident escalated, Li Auto’s stock price continued to decline, dropping by 5.43% at the close of U.S. trading on August 6 compared to the previous trading day, reflecting market concerns about its future development.

As the entrusted executor of this test, China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (China Automotive Engineering) acknowledged in its statement that there were issues of untimely and unclear disclosure of key information during the testing process: it failed to clearly inform the public that the Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Chenglong used in this test was a second-hand vehicle serving solely as a "mobile barrier vehicle" meeting specific standards, and that the test itself was by no means an evaluation of the safety performance or quality level of that brand’s products. This lack of information directly led to public misunderstanding. In this regard, China Automotive Engineering extends its sincere apology and commits to further improving its comprehensive testing management mechanisms, always adhering to the core principles of scientific rigor, objectivity, and neutrality, and fulfilling its key responsibility as a testing institution to uphold the industry's credibility through practical actions.

In its statement, Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. clearly emphasized that it will always adhere to its core quality philosophy of "high quality and reliability." In the future, it will continue to strengthen its key core technological capabilities through ongoing innovation, focusing on providing customers with superior integrated transportation solutions, creating user value through concrete actions, and steadily promoting the enterprise's high-quality development. As the direct victim in this incident, Dongfeng Liuzhou’s Chenglong Trucks have faced widespread public doubts about their safety due to the improper actions of Li Auto, which has distracted the company from its core businesses such as product development and customer service. However, some staff members have said, “We’ve caught this wave of attention brought by Li Auto,” and now Chenglong Trucks need to further convert it into positive brand recognition to boost product sales.

Li Auto's apology is an important step in resolving this incident, but to completely eliminate the negative impact caused by it, continuous efforts from all parties are needed. True industry progress should be built on safety standards and transparent testing data, as consumers ultimately pay for "guaranteed safety".