Li Auto has released the first official interior images of the upcoming i8 electric SUV ahead of the car’s arrival in stores on July 18 and launch on July 29.
The images reveal an interior that will be familiar to anyone who has seen or sat in a Li Auto, one that places the emphasis on soft-touch materials, simple shapes, and family-friendly features, with little in the way of surprises.
The i8 is Li Auto’s second fully electric model after the MEGA, and their first fully electric SUV, and was originally delayed due to negative internet discussion about the shape of the MEGA.
With Li Auto’s sales under attack from many other EREV and hybrid SUVs entering the space, the brand has decided now is the time to make the switch the full electric, which could particularly help their sales in Shanghai where green licence plates are not given to hybrids.
The images detail a close look at the cockpit, rearward views of the front and second row seats, and a close up of the front seats.
In the cockpit, we can see Li Auto’s familiar steering wheel with gold coloured highlights rather than silver, and the small touchscreen above the boss itself giving basic driving information and consumption figures.
From this angle, we can’t see a head-up display, but we do see what appears to be a speaker behind the steering wheel, though we would fully expect Li Auto to have a HUD in the final product.
We can also see Li Auto’s by now familiar twin-front screen set up, with twin 15.7-inch 3k screens, most likely running the Snapdragon 8295 chip as in other models.
Looking back from dashboard, we see twin wireless, ventilated phone chargers in the front, and large cupholders at the front and back of the centre console.
In the second row, there’s a pair of captain’s seats, with the passenger side seat appearing to be a Queen seat with a raisable legrest and possible zero-gravity functionality.
Both seats get a wireless phone charger in the side and a USB socket of some form, and we know from previous spy shots of the i8 that there will be tray tables on the back of the front seats for each side.
Li’s minimalist design language means less buttons so we’ll have to assume heating, ventilation, and massaging functions in both seats, activated by voice, the large screen in the ceiling, or a smaller screen just behind the centre console and above a cooling and heating drawer.
From this angle we also see manual sunblinds built into the second-row doors, and a large panoramic roof over the rear occupants with a built-in electric sunblind.
The final angle looks more closely at the driver’s seat and reveals a smaller panoramic window with electric sunblind over the front occupants.
Behind that is the fold-down screen on the ceiling, along with a plethora of speakers, likely for a 7.3.4 surround sound system with Dolby Atmos support like on Li’s other cars.
In short, the i8 looks every bit like it follows the standard Li Auto script inside and out. The only question, perhaps, might be whether the second-row seats can rotate like those in the MEGA, and given the large channel between the seats to get to the third row, it’s certainly possible but not expected.
