Last year the Chinese manufacturer Li Car launched a new generation of its L8. A large premium seven-seater SUV equipped with an ambitious electrical system with a range extender, which has become an immediate success and a true nightmare for German manufacturers.
The arguments of L8 They are quite solid, and in this way we find a 5-meter-long model with a wide interior space, which allows it to have up to six seats, and a gigantic trunk if we fold the last row.
Inside we find a high-quality set, where the technological endowment does not take prisoners, and for example, it has the AD Pro system, which is the first driven by the chip Horizon Robotics Journey 5. A powerful 128 TOPS processor that is based on Nvidia’s Orin X chip, which allows you to enjoy a high self-driving capacity, where an endowment made up of a sensor comes into play AT128 LiDAR, an 8MP front camera and five 2MP peripheral cameras along with four 2MP surround view cameras.
The infotainment system for its part is managed by a processor Qualcomm 8155with 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, and drives equipment made up of up to three 15.7-inch 3K screens each, complete with an Atmos sound system, to turn the cabin into a family cinema.
But it is the mechanical section that is really the protagonist. A Li Auto L8 that features a electrical system with range extender where two electric motors, with a power of 330 kW (442 CV) drive it to 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds, and which are powered by a battery that reaches no less than 42.8 kWh. Enough to achieve a CLTC autonomy of 215 kilometers in electric mode. An electrical system completed with a fast charge that reaches the 74 kWwhich in 30 minutes allow you to reach 80% charge, and even has bidirectional charging with a discharge of up to 3.5 kW.
When autonomy is not enough, a 1.5-liter gasoline engine will come into action, which will extend the range an additional 1,100 kilometers, taking the combined figure to 1,315 kilometers. All with prices that start at 339,800 yuan (46,350 euros to change) for the cheapest variant.
Li Auto L8: German manufacturers the most affected
Now, Li auto has published an interesting statistic of its first sales in China, where we can see the origin of buyers who choose their L8.
The registration data of the brand show that the buyers of this model come mainly from of the BMW 3 Serieswhich are at the top of the list, followed by those with a bmw 5 serieswhich are placed in second place of those who have changed their car for an L8.
Behind these are those who have left behind an Audi A6, with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class in fourth place, the Audi A4 in fifth, and the Audi Q5 in sixth position.
As we see, a list headed by German premium brands, which seem to be the most affected by the expansion of Chinese manufacturers within the premium segments. Something that is undoubtedly very bad news for Western groups that see how even these segments are beginning to escape them.
