Here we have a Li L8, seen in the Chinese capital Beijing. The L8 is the second-largest Li SUV and it is an impressive machine. It looks luxurious, high-tech, and huge. Even so, it is pretty slippery with a drag coefficient of only 0.297 Cd. Li likes factual color names, not the poetic stuff that other car makers do. The L8 that I saw is painted in a color simply called ‘Gold’.
Li is the brand name. The brand is owned by Li Auto. The Chinese brand name is Li Xiang (理想) and the Chinese company name is Li Xiang Auto (理想汽车).
The company was founded in 2015 by Li Xiang. Yes, he named the business after himself, like Porsche and Ford. It is a Chinese name, so Li is his last name and Xiang his first. Li Xiang got rich with the ultra-popular automotive platform Autohome. He used the money he made with Autohome to start Li Auto. The first Li was the Li ONE.
The Li L8 is a luxury mid-size SUV launched on the Chinese car market in 2022. The L8 is a six-seat three-row car. It is aimed at extended families. The size of the Li L8 is 5080/1995/1800, with a 3005 wheelbase and a hefty 3130 kg curb weight.
Interior design is a unique selling point of Li Auto. The L8 has an enormous dual 15.7-inch screen, one in the middle for infotainment and one on the right for front-passenger entertainment.
The driver has a tiny screen on the steering wheel, displaying the most important information like range and speed, and the L8 is also equipped with a HUD.
The middle row with two captain seats. There is a fridge in the front armrest and a flip-down screen on the ceiling. Other equipment includes a 21-speaker sound system and a 256-color ambient light system.
The Li L8 is an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) with all-wheel drive. All of Li Auto’s SUV are EREVs. The recently launched Li MEGA MPV is the brand’s first EV. The power train consists of a 1.5 turbo ICE and two electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear.
The ICE doesn’t drive the wheels, it only powers a generator that in turn charges the batteries. The output of the L8 is 330 kW and 630 Nm. The top speed is 180 km/h and 0-100 takes 5.3 seconds. It has a 65-liter fuel tank and a 42.8 kWh ternary lithium battery. Li claims a combined range of 1135 kilometers and an EV-only range of 225 kilometers.
The larger badge refers to Li ONE owners club. In China, there is an owners club for almost every car, in every city. The badge shows the production years of the ONE: 2019 until 2021. Characters on top: 理想家, Lixiang Jia, ‘Home of Lixiang’. Below: 北京, Beijing. I guess the owner used to ride a ONE and transferred the badge to his L8. Classy.
Li Auto is the second-best-selling Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) brand. Li occupies the 17th place in the brand-sales ranking, with 25.787 units sold. The Li L8 sold 5035 units, and rightly so, as you get a lot of car and tech for the money: the current price range is 321.800 to 379.800 yuan ($44.5K – $52K). More Li Auto autos soon!