Since the beginning of the new year, Ideal Automobile has been singing high, with high sales, impressive performance, and the release of new cars. However, unexpectedly, after the release of the first pure electric luxury MPV - MEGA, a public opinion storm suddenly struck.
Ideal Automobile originally intended to open up a new market through MEGA and become the next best-selling family car, but in reality, it was maliciously photographed and heavily unsubscribed. Undoubtedly, the ideal car of today has stood at the forefront of the storm.
Li Xiang counterattacks
On March 11th, Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Ideal Automobile, made his first positive response to the "MEGA stigma incident" on his social media. In this lengthy response, Li Xiang stated that after careful consideration, he had decided to launch a counterattack, using light to counter darkness. He said, "We are already using legal means to deal with the organized illegal and criminal acts that existed in the incident."
Li Xiang's response received numerous supportive voices.
Xiaopeng Motors CEO He Xiaopeng, Huawei Terminal BG CEO and Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU Chairman Yu Chengdong, BYD Group Brand and Public Relations General Manager Li Yunfei, Geely Holding Group Senior Vice President Yang Xueliang, and others have all posted articles on social media in support of Ideal Automobile.
On the evening of the same day, the official Weibo account of Geely Krypton also posted, stating: "Automobile companies should bring more and better products and consumer experiences to consumers in a benign competition way. Geely Krypton firmly opposes and opposes any unethical and bottom line marketing that goes against public order and good customs, and hopes that the majority of automobile companies and consumers can jointly maintain a good atmosphere for the development of China's new energy vehicle industry."
"In the process of car manufacturing, car companies should be encouraged to innovate independently and not allow online violence to trample on them recklessly, in order to undermine the sustainability of healthy market competition." Shen Meng, director of Xiangsong Capital, told Financial Investment News reporters.
From a legal perspective, does the malicious P image constitute infringement on Ideal Automobile, and what kind of legal responsibility does it need to bear? Regarding this, Lawyer Zhang Xiaoliang from Beijing Tianda Gonghe (Chengdu) Law Firm believes that "the fabrication of false facts in the P diagram infringes on the legal personality rights enjoyed by Ideal Automobile in accordance with the law. The infringer should bear the liability for infringement, and the forms of liability include cessation of infringement, restoration of reputation, elimination of impact, apology, and compensation for losses."
MEGA controversy
All of this stems from this MPV, which focuses on many market focal points.
Before and after the launch of the new MAGA, comments and illustrations about its "appearance resembling a coffin" quickly spread on the internet. In the online image, this MPV was maliciously depicted as a "coffin car" or "funeral car".
Affected by online violence, MEGA's unsubscribe volume has significantly increased, delivery volume is worrying, and Ideal Automobile's stock price has plummeted, with a significant decline in market value.
In addition, MEGA's high selling price of 559800 yuan has attracted industry attention since its announcement. Compared to the existing price of the L series, it once again sets a new record for the highest selling price of the ideal car model on sale. Li Xiang introduced that MEGA adopts an 800V high-voltage platform and is equipped with the Kirin 5C battery pack jointly developed with CATL. The battery capacity is 102.7 kilowatt hours, and the range under CLTC conditions is 710 kilometers. In terms of energy replenishment, it can achieve a charging speed of 12 minutes and a range of 500 kilometers.
The reporter of Financial Investment News noticed that MEGA is of great significance to the ideal car. From its recent announcement and research, it is not difficult to see that this year will be an unprecedented product year for the ideal car, and MEGA is the first "Rocket" to deal with the "pure electric" market.
Previously, Li Xiang was full of expectations for MEGA's sales, "MEGA will become the ideal next explosive product, and is confident that it will become the top selling product for passenger cars priced over 500000 yuan."
It is reported that the large order for the Ideal New Pure Electric Model MEGA has not exceeded 10000, and the number of small to large orders is also limited. Within 72 hours of its launch, the large order for this model is about 3218 units, while the number of refunds is as high as 10297 units. As of the time of press release, Ideal Automobile has not responded to the specific order data after MEGA's launch.
It is worth mentioning that due to negative news, Ideal's stock price has been continuously declining and its market value has seriously shrunk. As of the close on March 12th, the stock price of Ideal Automobile in Hong Kong was HKD 147 per share, up 1.94%. However, since its launch on March 1st, Ideal's stock price has almost plummeted, evaporating its market value by nearly HKD 60 billion.
Industry insiders have analyzed that the significant drop in Ideal's stock price is not only due to the market's overestimation of Ideal Automobile in the early stages, but also because MEGA did not meet its previous sales expectations. It may be difficult for Ideal Automobile to achieve a reversal in the short term.
Journalist's note
More than just an ideal car is injured
It is also a kind of harm to consumers
On February 26th, Ideal Automobile released its most beautiful annual report data in history. The financial report shows that it achieved a revenue of 123.851 billion yuan and a net profit of 11.809 billion yuan in 2023. As a result, Ideal Automobile became the first "new car making force" in China with an annual revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan.
This impressive set of data all reveals the top position of Ideal Automobile in the new energy vehicle market.
As everyone cast envious glances, Ideal Automobile strode towards the "pure electric" market, attempting to open up a second growth curve, but unexpectedly, the newly launched MEGA encountered online violence.
The harm is not only limited to ideal cars, but also a disguised harm to consumer rights. Ideal cars can be "not ideal", and MEGA can also be "not hot selling", but the winner of ideals should be more competitive competitors in the market, rather than vicious competition that is maliciously constructed, vilified, and suppressed.
Looking at the new energy vehicle market, the pace of transformation for automotive companies is accelerating.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers released sales data showing that the domestic retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in February was 35.8%, an increase of 3.8 percentage points from the same period last year's penetration rate of 32%, and an increase of 2.9 percentage points from January's penetration rate.
In the benign competition of chasing each other, the real test should be the hard power of car companies, rather than malicious smearing out of nothing.
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