In a fiercely competitive market characterized by over-competition, industry professionals are engrossed in technological development, contemplating how to efficiently grow through alliances and strategizing on leveraging the momentum of the intelligent electric era to enhance the quality and image of Chinese automobiles. Simultaneously, they find themselves embroiled in chaotic battles with inflating online traffic and mercenary commentators, where the gains and losses of this skirmish are only truly understood by those involved.
Great Wall Motor Loses Lawsuit Against Self-Media
Event Overview: Recently, Weibo user @车主程程爱国产 published a civil lawsuit image. The picture indicates that Great Wall Motor lost a defamation lawsuit against the self-media account "车主程程爱国产" (Car Owner Cheng Cheng Loves Domestic Products).
Previously, Great Wall Motor had requested the court to order the defendant to immediately delete the posted articles concerning the case; to mandate the defendant to publish a notice in prominent positions in both the People's Daily and the Legal Daily for 30 consecutive days; and to compensate the plaintiff for 1 million yuan in economic losses.
The court held that, as a well-known automotive company, Great Wall Motor should bear the necessary obligation of tolerance when faced with non-malicious criticism and skepticism. While some statements in the defendant's article may not have been rigorous, they still fall within the realm of normal commentary, which the plaintiff should accept with understanding and tolerance, and cannot claim malice merely based on this. Consequently, the court dismissed Great Wall Motor's lawsuit.
According to prior reports, in March 2023, Great Wall Motor initiated an industry-wide call to jointly purify the online communication environment and launched a "10 million yuan bounty plan" to crack down on online mercenaries.
Great Wall Motor Logo
Commentary: The nature of the event is no longer up for debate; the court's ruling serves as the final determination. Intriguingly, behind this matter lies the relationship between this blogger and BYD, as well as the connection between BYD and Great Wall Motor.
From their executives exchanging harsh words in various settings to public accusations concerning each other's technical deficiencies, and from mass lawsuits against closely-knit "self-media relatives" on either side, it’s clear that the rivalry between Great Wall and BYD has been brought fully into the open.
Browsing "车主程程爱国产," it’s easy to notice the blogger has posted numerous praises for BYD, Tengshi, and Yangwang, alongside mocking posts referring to Great Wall as "that northern factory."
On August 22, the blogger posted on Weibo: "Let's see what cars are most loved by Hebei people; surprisingly, none of the local car manufacturers made the top 20!" The text was accompanied by an image showing the top 20 vehicle sales in Hebei, with multiple BYD models claiming leading positions, including the Qin PLUS at number one. The only local car manufacturer in Hebei is Great Wall Motor.
There are also more videos themed around "The societal significance of BYD" and "BYD's journey from 1 to 8 million new energy vehicles," clearly expressing the blogger's admiration for BYD.
But can Great Wall Motor guarantee they have never used "water armies"? In May of this year, BYD sued a self-media account for spreading rumors and won the case. In contrast, Great Wall Motor's recent loss only further deepens the "entanglement" between the two automakers.
On August 14, an announcement from Southern Power Grid revealed that Great Wall Motor was listed as "not eligible for tender" due to "serious dishonesty by a supplier, causing significant negative impact," with a penalty period of 24 months.
Subsequently, Great Wall Motor issued a statement indicating that during a project where they provided 35 Tank 500 vehicles to Southern Power Grid, discrepancies were found between the delivered goods and the contract specifications.
Great Wall Motor must strengthen its own capabilities; to overcome its rivals, it must become even more formidable, leaving no room for criticism from competitors. Amidst an unprecedented level of competition, it is not just Great Wall Motor that needs to practice understanding and tolerance towards normal commentary.
AVATR Acquires Stake in Huawei Subsidiary Yingwang
Event Overview: On August 19, Changan Automobile announced that its subsidiary AVATR Technology will invest in Huawei’s subsidiary Yingwang, making AVATR the first cooperative partner of Yingwang. Previously, Changan had planned to invest in the company, but this time AVATR became the investment entity; the future involvement of Changan in Yingwang has not been disclosed.
Reportedly, on the morning of August 20, AVATR Technology signed a "Stock Transfer Agreement" with Huawei in Chongqing, agreeing to purchase 10% of Yingwang's shares held by Huawei at a transaction amount of 11.5 billion yuan. After this transaction, AVATR's stake in Yingwang stands at 10%, while Huawei's remains at 90%.
AVATR Auto Sales Store
Commentary: Huawei's intelligent automotive solutions company has finally gained a substantial ally.
For a long time, the external impression of Huawei's intelligent driving (Hi model) has been that it possesses robust technological reserves and stands at the forefront or even in a leading position. However, car manufacturers have been hesitant to entrust the “soul” of their brands to Huawei.
For instance, SAIC outright declined, and Mercedes-Benz also indicated they would develop software independently after receiving Huawei’s invitation.
At that time, affected by constraints in their primary ICT operations due to Western countries, Huawei urgently needed to expand its revenue through its automotive business. After facing numerous setbacks in negotiations with powerful mainframe manufacturers, they launched the select car model as a new direction.
For automakers not particularly advanced in intelligent software, the initial response to allowing Huawei’s select vehicles to lead has surprisingly been positive, as demonstrated by the AITO brand. Thus, their initiatives such as the Smart World and Enjoy World models have emerged.
This time, with AVATR investing in Yingwang, it signals a deeper binding of Huawei's automotive business unit with Changan; additionally, it cannot be ruled out that they aim to lead and attract more car manufacturers to join this collaborative alliance.
However, the decision for Changan to invest came after much deliberation and may not have been made at the optimal timing.
Changan Automobile and Huawei signed a cooperation memorandum in November 2023, when Huawei's HarmonyOS driving circle had not yet expanded significantly, and the Asking M9 had yet to be launched, with the Asking M7 just beginning to gain traction.
By April of this year, when Huawei announced its Qian Kun Intelligent Drive ADS 3.0, their official Weibo account tagged 10 automotive brands, including ARCFOX, Changan Automobile, AVATR, Deep Blue, Lantu, Warriors Technology, GAC Trumpchi, Harmony Intelligent Driving, AITO, and Smart World Cars. Huawei's smart automotive business is rapidly expanding its circle.
Moreover, in July of this year, Seres also announced plans to acquire a stake in Yingwang, further boosting the latter's valuation.
At present, Yingwang's valuation has drastically changed. AVATR's investment of 11.5 billion yuan has only yielded them 10% ownership.
Thus, car manufacturers looking to enter may need to act quickly; otherwise, it may no longer be possible to secure 10% of Yingwang’s shares for that amount.
