Hinter dem Szenario, dass das Ideal mit der Sammelaktion von Fahrzeugsammelkarten kollidiert, sollte die Automobilbranche die SicherheitsTests nicht zu einer Marketingshow ausweiten.

On the evening of August 6th, Li Auto, the Automotive Safety Technology Center of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "China Automotive Engineering Research Institute"), and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. issued a joint statement regarding the relevant events of the Li i8 collision test. Li Auto and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute apologized again for the collision test video, and the three parties jointly called on the industry to maintain a clean and upright market order.

So far, after a week of public outcry triggered by the collision test video of the Li i8 with a heavy - truck, the incident has temporarily come to an end in the form of a "reconciliation" among the three parties.

The statement highlighted two key points: First, automobile manufacturers should avoid "unfair competition behaviors" such as derogatory comparisons in their promotions; Second, testing and certification institutions should ensure that the information they release is true, accurate, and complete... This self - reflection shows that some automobile manufacturers have engaged in similar behaviors in previous promotions, which not only disrupt the normal competition order but may also mislead consumers' judgments and endanger driving safety.

After reviewing the press conferences of new energy vehicle manufacturers such as NIO LeDao L90, BYD Sea Lion 06, Leapmotor B01, XPeng G7, and Xiaomi YU7, the IT Times found that after the hype around "intelligent driving" promotion has subsided, automobile manufacturers are now focusing on "safety": showing collisions with trucks, extreme roll - overs, and even scenarios where the battery pack remains intact after being hit by a missile.

"According to current Chinese laws, regulations, and judicial practices, the test content presented by automobile manufacturers at press conferences may be regarded as commercial advertisements," Fang Li, a lawyer from the Shanghai Duan & Duan (Hongqiao International Central Business District) Law Firm, told the IT Times. If the test content conceals important information, fails to clearly indicate the complexity of actual collisions and road conditions, and ultimately does not match the actual results, causing damage to consumers, it may constitute false advertising and the manufacturer may be held legally liable.

Event Recap: Could the Li i8 Remain "Intact" After a Collision with a Heavy - Truck?

On the evening of July 29th, a collision test video of the Li i8 with a heavy - truck was played at the Li i8 press conference. The video was visually impactful. After the 2.8 - ton Li i8 collided head - on with an 8 - ton truck, the final frame showed the Li i8 and the truck in a standstill, with the truck's cab flipping forward, dropping, and its four wheels off the ground. Two large lines of text on the screen read: "Head - on collision with a heavy - truck at 100 km/h, no deformation in the A - pillar, B - pillar, C - pillar, or door beams."

The clear logo on the steering wheel in the truck's cab allowed netizens to quickly identify the truck as the Chenglong H5 under Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. In a short period, the official account of Chenglong Trucks was flooded with messages questioning the product quality.

 However, the public opinion soon reversed.

"It defies physics that an 8 - ton truck could be flipped over by a 2 - ton car, and I suspect the truck's cab wasn't locked properly," a Chenglong truck driver strongly questioned the authenticity of the video in an interview with the media.

"If such a test video were true, would heavy - truck drivers choose to collide with a Li i8 to slow down and avoid danger when they can't brake in real - life situations?" Behind this highly - upvoted online comment lies people's concerns about safety risks.

Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. issued a statement saying that "publishing collision videos with results that deviate significantly from the public's perception of normal collisions by customizing collision conditions and designing non - conventional test scenarios not only damages our brand image but also easily misleads car owners and poses safety risks."

On August 3rd, Li Auto and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute issued statements, stating that the purpose of the test was to verify and improve the passive safety performance of the Li i8, not to evaluate the product quality of other brands. The test results should not be interpreted as a judgment on the product quality of other brands.

However, neither party directly answered the many questions raised by Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. in its public statement, such as "whether the buckles were fixed," "whether the vehicle passed the inspection," and "the condition of the test site." People's doubts about the fairness and effectiveness of the test remained unresolved.

On the evening of August 6th, the three parties issued a joint statement, seemingly indicating that the incident had temporarily ended. However, the discussion about "excessive promotion" by automobile manufacturers continued.

Different from digital products such as mobile phones, automobiles are directly related to the safety of users' lives. However, in recent years, the press conferences of some automobile manufacturers have become more and more like those of mobile phone manufacturers, filled with various "cool" technical terms and dazzling functions. Is Li Auto the only manufacturer that has engaged in "inappropriate" promotion?

Reporter's Investigation: Automobile Press Conferences Feature Safety Tests

"Safety is the ultimate luxury." After reviewing the press conferences of several automobile manufacturers, the IT Times noticed that Lei Jun, He Xiaopeng, and Zhang Zhuo, the general manager of the BYD Ocean Network Sales Division, all mentioned this sentence at the press conferences of new energy vehicles such as the LeDao L90, BYD Sea Lion 06, Leapmotor B01, XPeng G7, and Xiaomi yu7.

It is generally recognized in the industry that automobile safety includes active safety (i.e., being able to control the vehicle smoothly, such as braking, accelerating, and steering, without deviating from the intended route, for example, intelligent driving and emergency braking), battery safety, and passive safety (i.e., protecting the occupants in the vehicle in case of an accident).

At press conferences, manufacturers usually present test certificates from third - party institutions as proof of safety and reproduce multi - scenario simulations through videos to demonstrate the safety performance of their vehicles.

The NIO LeDao L90, positioned as a family car, demonstrated two extreme challenges jointly completed with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CATARC") at its press conference: One was that in a rainy scenario, the body frame of a LeDao L90 remained intact after being sandwiched between two trucks at high speed; the other was that the LeDao L90 maintained its structural integrity after a side - collision with a truck and an 8 - meter extreme roll - over.

The XPeng G7 demonstrated a test of its AEB function (Automatic Emergency Braking System) at its press conference. The vehicle successfully braked to a stop when it encountered a stationary dummy and an accident vehicle while traveling at a high speed of 130 km/h. According to the test results, it also stopped successfully at a speed of 120 km/h on a wet road at night when encountering an accident vehicle ahead.

"With ultra - high standard pressure - bearing capacity, the static pressure on the roof is about 9.9 tons, equivalent to two elephants." The BYD Sea Lion 06 conducted a safety airbag test. For example, in a roll - over test at a speed of 60 km/h, the airbags deployed normally, the high - voltage system was automatically powered off, and the battery pack did not catch fire.

Some automobile manufacturers, although not presenting videos, directly show the test results in PPTs and even attach test reports stamped with the red seals of testing institutions.

"Our all - around battery safety design meets the new national standards in advance," said Cao Li, the senior vice - president of Leapmotor, at the Leapmotor B01 press conference. Behind him, the PPT showed a series of data, including 128 performance tests, 1029 safety tests, a 130 - second bottom fire test, and a 5 - meter free - fall test.

The Xiaomi YU7 press conference also announced a number of safety test reports, including more than 50 passive safety performance development tests. Lei Jun said that these tests covered all the collision standards of C - NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) and C - IASI (China Insurance Automotive Safety Index).

The videos and test data presented at automobile manufacturers' press conferences convey a clear message - we are safe. But just as netizens questioned in the Li Auto and Chenglong incident, if a Li i8 were to collide with a Chenglong truck in real - life at the same speed and under the same operating conditions, would Li Auto be responsible for the safety of the passengers?

"This kind of test video, similar to the one from Li Auto, fully meets the basic characteristics of an advertisement," Fang Li believes. The content presented by automobile manufacturers at press conferences aims to highlight the safety performance of their products to promote sales and is disseminated through public media, which fully meets the requirement of "promotional intent" for an advertisement. "In previous similar disputes (such as Nezha Auto being fined for derogatory comparisons with Tesla), market regulatory authorities usually regarded the demonstrations at press conferences as advertising activities because they are aimed at the public and intended to influence purchasing decisions."

In April this year, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Administration stated in the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision and Law Enforcement of 'Soft - Article' Advertisements that content promoting products through experience sharing and evaluations may still be regarded as advertisements if the word "advertisement" is not prominently marked.

Fang Li analyzed that if we assume that the test content presented by automobile manufacturers at press conferences falls within the scope of advertising, then this content must comply with the requirements of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China. If the test conceals limiting conditions, specific scenarios, collision angles, or is deliberately designed to mislead consumers, and one - sidedly exaggerates safety, causing damage to consumers, it may face accusations of false advertising and multiple legal liabilities.

The IT Times noticed that the descriptions of test conditions by some automobile manufacturers are often placed in the bottom - left corner of the video or PPT, with small, gray fonts that are not easily noticeable. In some videos, key information such as test conditions, collision conditions, and vehicle status is very vague.

For example, in the collision video of the Li i8 and the Chenglong truck, the text "relative speed of 100 km/h (Li i8 at 60 km/h and Chenglong at 40 km/h)" flashed briefly at the bottom of the screen at the beginning, but the final frame on the big screen showed the large characters "100 km/h" and "head - on collision with a heavy - truck."

Reporter's Observation: Don't Turn Technology Verification into a "Show"

Words like "industry - leading," "super," and "far - exceeding" are frequently used at the press conferences of some automobile manufacturers.

"I think current automobile press conferences are out of touch with reality and not user - centered. They are more for competitors and the media," said Wei Jianjun, the chairman of Great Wall Motors, at the press conference for the second - generation Hi4 technology innovation and the pre - sale of the second - generation Haval Xiaolong MAX earlier this year, pointing out the strange phenomena at automobile press conferences, such as the "involution" of slogans and the use of expressions like "crushing."

Very often, the verification of automobile technology has been "distorted" into a marketing show.

An earlier report in the China Automotive News revealed the reasons for the current situation at automobile press conferences: Automobile manufacturers are overly pursuing technological "gimmicks," and some have fallen into a technological "arms race," mistakenly believing that piling up complex data and professional terms is the key to demonstrating their strength. In addition, automobile manufacturers are eager to stand out in the market quickly, so they choose exaggerated and flashy expressions to attract attention.

There are precedents.

Take "intelligent driving" as an example. Previously, many automobile manufacturers repeatedly emphasized the "intelligence" of intelligent driving at new car press conferences rather than its limitations. They did not explain in detail that the "intelligence level" varies among different models due to different configurations, and rarely mentioned that "intelligent driving is still an auxiliary function, and drivers of L2 - level cars cannot take their hands off the steering wheel."

Undoubtedly, this strategy at press conferences often leads to a serious "cognitive bias" among consumers. In previous safety incidents such as the rear - end collision of the AITO M7 with a maintenance vehicle and the accident involving three female college students in a Xiaomi SU7 standard version, whether the automobile manufacturers were involved in "excessive promotion" or "false advertising" became the focus of public debate.

After that, regulatory authorities promptly regulated the promotion of "intelligent driving" by automobile manufacturers. On April 16th this year, the Equipment Industry Department I of the Ministry