On September 23, Li Auto’s legal department issued a statement saying that recently, the company has discovered several self-media accounts that, in an attempt to gain unjust traffic, have used the guise of “reviews” to deliberately create and spread vehicle performance conclusions that are severely misleading and inconsistent with the facts. These actions have far exceeded the scope of normal reviews, and are suspected of malicious defamation and misleading consumers. In response, Li Auto’s legal department has collected comprehensive evidence and will take legal action to pursue the legal responsibility of the relevant parties.
Li Auto’s legal department pointed out that on September 16, the self-media account “25 Degree Exam Hall” published a video titled “How Ideal is the Ideal i8 with the Lowest Drag Coefficient?” on platforms such as Weibo, WeChat Video Channel, and Bilibili. The video, through concealing improper operations and editing the testing process, reached conclusions that were inconsistent with the actual performance, and maliciously defamed the Ideal i8. This behavior has seriously damaged the reputation of Li Auto’s products and disrupted the fair competition in the market.
It is understood that the Ideal i8 is the first model in Li Auto’s i-series and the company’s first fully electric SUV. Positioned as a six-seat family electric SUV, it was launched on July 29 with a price of 339,800 CNY. The Ideal i8 is equipped with the Nvidia Thor chip and comes standard with the new generation ATL LiDAR, offering features like automatic emergency braking (AEB) and automatic emergency steering (AES). Previously, Li Xiang, the founder of Li Auto, announced that one of the goals for September was to deliver more than 8,000 units of the Ideal i8, aiming for a target of 10,000 units.
This is the third statement released by Li Auto’s legal department this month. On September 11, Li Auto’s legal department issued a statement stating that certain online black PR agents and fake online influencers had maliciously defamed Li Auto’s brand image and product quality through the fabrication of false information, severely disrupting market order and damaging consumer rights and industry development. Investigations found that 332 accounts from 13 MCN institutions under a certain internet technology company had maliciously smeared the product quality and business status of Li Auto through content recycling, rewriting articles, and mass production of false information. Other MCN organizations and accounts controlled by certain technology centers and equipment companies also fabricated false complaints about the yet-to-be-released Ideal i6 model, such as fake claims of phone lines being busy, halved monthly sales, and cheap pricing, aiming to damage the market performance of the Ideal i6 and create a negative market environment. Additionally, self-media accounts such as “Cao Chun’s Electric Car” and “Dalinzi Loves Charging” have long published infringing content that defames Li Auto by fabricating facts and distorting interpretations, seriously damaging the reputation of the Li Auto brand and products. In response, Li Auto’s legal department stated that they have secured relevant evidence and will take action through means including criminal reports, administrative complaints, and civil litigation to pursue legal responsibility.
On September 22, Li Auto’s legal department also issued a statement announcing that a court had made a final judgment. The court ruled that Zhang, the holder of the Weibo account “A5W Gong,” had maliciously posted distorted facts and intentionally vilified the Li Auto MEGA model the day before its release to gain improper online traffic. Zhang and the affiliated MCN organization, Shanghai-based brand management company, were found to be jointly liable for the infringement. The court determined that on February 29, 2024, at 22:02, Zhang posted a Weibo in which he darkened the tone of the Ideal MEGA promotional video, altered the original video’s music, and included many insulting words, maliciously defaming the Ideal MEGA model. The Shanghai brand management company, as an MCN agency, allowed the infringement to expand and shares joint liability. The final ruling required Zhang and his MCN organization to publicly apologize at the top of their online accounts and compensate Li Auto for the corresponding economic losses and reasonable legal fees.
On September 12, CCTV Finance’s Economic Half Hour program aired an episode titled “New Energy Vehicles: Saying No to Black PR!” The program revealed that several fake car review influencers had been caught. In the current statement, Li Auto’s legal department emphasized that the “Notice on Special Rectification Actions for Internet Chaos in the Automotive Industry” explicitly requires the focus on combating “false or non-compliant reviews.” Li Auto’s legal department has collected evidence and will take legal action to pursue the legal responsibility of relevant parties. Earlier, in response to illegal profiteering, exaggerated and false advertising, malicious defamation, and other internet chaos, a joint notice was issued on September 10 by six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Cyberspace Administration, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation. The notice decided to launch a nationwide three-month special rectification action.
