Last Night, Zhi Ji Held a New Car Launch Event

Last night, Zhi Ji held a new car launch event and officially introduced its new car, Zhi Ji L6. However, what attracted more attention after the event was the outcry against Xiaomi’s mud-slinging marketing towards Zhi Ji.

During the L6 launch event, Zhi Ji used Xiaomi SU7 as a reference point. However, when mentioning the Xiaomi SU7 Max version, a factual error was made by describing Xiaomi’s front and rear dual SiC silicon carbide motors as front IGBT and rear SiC configuration.

Subsequently, Xiaomi’s car product manager, Pan Xiaowen, stated, “Xiaomi SU7 across all models uses silicon carbide, not only in the front and rear motors but also in the onboard charger and the compressor of the thermal management system,” urging Zhi Ji to clarify publicly and apologize. Following this, a Xiaomi spokesperson posted a lengthy response on Weibo, stating that Zhi Ji inaccurately labeled key parameters of Xiaomi SU7 Max during the launch event, causing extremely negative consequences, and demanding an apology from Zhi Ji.

In response to Xiaomi’s statement, Zhi Ji CEO Liu Tao later posted on Weibo, acknowledging a mistake in product information during the research process resulting in misinformation at the event. Both Xiaomi SU7 and Zhi Ji L6 utilize SiC silicon carbide modules in their front and rear motors. He expressed sincere apologies to Xiaomi’s car division.

However, it seems that Xiaomi was not satisfied with this response. A Xiaomi spokesperson subsequently posted two Weibo messages, stating, “We do not accept a casual unofficial apology. We once again urge Zhi Ji to clarify publicly and formally apologize to the public who have been misled!” “If we do not receive a formal public apology from Zhi Ji, we will employ legal means to protect our rights. This is our final call for Zhi Ji to apologize immediately.”

Finally, Zhi Ji officially issued an apology on their official Weibo account, expressing deep regret for a mislabeling of a key parameter due to a team’s content review oversight. Interestingly, in the apology Weibo post, Zhi Ji added a sentence, “while benchmarking against Xiaomi SU7, which has recently generated a lot of buzz,” making one wonder if this is a genuine apology or another attempt to capitalize on the buzz?

In various past launch events, it has been a common practice for companies to reference and capitalize on competitors for publicity. Xiaomi’s comparison with Apple during past smartphone launch events is a notable example. However, the key to benchmarking is accuracy. Zhi Ji’s misrepresentation in this instance, whether intentional or unintentional, has undoubtedly backfired and should not have happened.

Reflections on the Xiaomi and Zhi Ji Conflict

In the current Chinese automotive market, competition between brands has reached a fierce stage. However, from a user’s perspective, what we truly hope to see is brands competing in a healthier manner based on technology, striving to bring more and superior products to users, rather than resorting to tactics for the sake of gaining attention or traffic. How do you interpret this conflict between Xiaomi and Zhi Ji this time?