"After careful consideration, we have decided to launch a counterattack," said Li Xiang, founder and CEO of Ideal Automobile, in a post on WeChat Moments on March 11th. It has been nearly 10 days since Li Xiang last made a public statement.
Previously, on March 1st, the first pure electric vehicle model of Ideal Automobile, MEGA, was officially launched. As a full-size pure electric MPV, the Ideal MEGA is priced up to 559800 yuan. Due to its unique exterior design and high price, this model has brought high attention to Ideal Automobile and sparked heated discussions.
Some people believe that the ideal MEGA design is avant-garde, with a strong sense of technology, comprehensive vehicle configuration, and suitable for family travel; However, there are also opinions that this model has an ugly appearance and a high price. Amidst mixed reviews, one comment received much attention - "Ideal MEGA is like a 'coffin'."
In addition to the extreme analogies mentioned above, some self media outlets have also disclosed that the order volume of Ideal MEGA after its listing may fall short of official expectations. In this context, Li Xiang, who rarely makes public comments after the listing of Ideal MEGA, chose to post on his social media.
MEGA is under criticism
Ideal MEGA has faced multiple criticisms since its listing.
Firstly, it is reflected in the price: the Ideal MEGA is priced at 559800 yuan, surpassing several popular new energy MPV models such as the Tengshi D9 EV, Lantu Dreamer PHEV, and Xiaopeng X9. The last three models are priced at 379800-469800 yuan, 339900-419900 yuan, and 359800-419800 yuan respectively. At present, in the domestic automotive market, the price range of new energy MPVs is concentrated between 250000 to 500000 yuan.
Ideal Automobile stated that after its launch, this model will become the best-selling model in the price range of over 500000 yuan. However, some netizens have expressed that the high pricing of Ideal MEGA has led to a decrease in its competitiveness.
In addition to price controversies, some malicious P-images have also attracted the attention of netizens before and after the launch of Ideal MEGA. In some online images, Ideal MEGA has been modified to "coffin" or "funeral vehicle".
Many industry insiders believe that the widespread dissemination of similar images or videos has had an extremely negative impact on Ideal MEGA, or could seriously impact its market performance after going public.
On the day of the launch of Ideal MEGA, Liu Jie, Vice President of Ideal Automotive Business, told Time Finance that the expected monthly delivery volume of new cars was around 8000.
However, the person in charge of Ideal Automobile told Time Finance, "From the current online environment, we cannot see that expectations are certain." However, they did not disclose specific order data.
According to industry statistics, after the launch of Ideal MEGA, there has been a significant return in the number of orders for models in the same price range or competitors as Xiaopeng X9, Tengshi D9, Wenjie M9, Lantu Dreamer, and Jike 009.
"Among them, Tengshi D9 is the biggest winner, with a double harvest of in store orders and over 1700 new orders added over the weekend, doubling the number of orders. Xiaopeng X9, on the other hand, saw a significant surge in in in in store volume, with an increase in order growth of at least 40% compared to the steady week," said the head of a certain institution.
Under one cold and one hot, the dilemma of the ideal MEGA is highlighted.
"We have decided to start a counterattack"
The new car was criticized, and Li Xiang chose to fight back.
On the morning of March 11th, Li Xiang stated in his WeChat Moments, "We are currently using legal means to deal with the organized illegal and criminal activities involved in the incident."
This may mean that Ideal Automobile is attempting to address the aforementioned behavior through legal means.
Li Xiang's WeChat Moments.
Lawyer Lu Muran from Guangdong Yinggen Law Firm told Time Finance that considering that the Ideal MEGA in the above picture is an unsold vehicle and belongs to Ideal Automobile Company, it maliciously modifies the picture (or video) and spreads or is suspected of infringing on Ideal Company's reputation and honor rights, and is also suspected of infringing on Ideal Company's reputation.
"According to Article 179 of the Civil Code, the infringing party may cease the infringement, compensate for losses, eliminate the impact, restore reputation, apologize, etc. At the same time, if punitive damages are required by law, their provisions shall be followed." Lu Muran said.
In Li Xiang's view, the ideal car is currently in darkness, but still needs to choose light.
"If I choose to compromise with the darkness, or even join it, then I and the people around me will become the ones we dislike, and the society we live in will become increasingly dark." Li Xiang said, "After careful consideration, we have decided to start counterattacking with light.". I hope more people can work together to create and convey beautiful designs, unique creativity, and happy moments, so that more beautiful images can appear in our lives
A person from the automotive industry told Time Finance that the automotive market needs a clear environment, and the internet is not a lawless place. All industry participants need to work together to create a good environment.
For more measures that Ideal Automobile may take, Times Finance will inquire with the business side for details. The person in charge of Ideal Automobile stated, "We are still working on it, and the specific details have not been synchronized yet.".