Die Reputation der Fahrer von Li Auto Fahrzeugen hat gelitten. Wer ist das endgültige Opfer?

Owners of Li Auto vehicles may never have imagined that they would be labeled as a "low-quality" group because of a video of a collision test between a Li Auto i8 and a Chenglong heavy truck.

In the past week, a large number of videos exposing and complaining about the low quality of Li Auto owners have emerged on social media. For a while, the image of Li Auto owners has become the target of public opinion, and the ridicule against them has reached a new height. Some netizens joked that "it's so hard for Li Auto owners to have a good time during the Chinese New Year, as they seem to be in troubled waters all year round."

The legal department of Li Auto timely issued a statement saying that the relevant negative information is characterized by multiple occurrences and high content homogeneity, suspected of organized illegal and criminal activities. Li Auto is collecting relevant evidence and will resolutely pursue legal liability through all legal means, such as platform complaints, civil litigation, and criminal reports.

However, regardless of the official statement from Li Auto, its owners have already been labeled negatively. Behind this online frenzy, is the truth really as the netizens have reported? Are Li Auto owners the only victims in the end?

Li Auto Owners Being "Mocked En Masse"

By opening major social media platforms and searching for topics related to "Li Auto owners" and "the quality of Li Auto owners", it can be found that the playback volume of such content is quite high, and the content is mainly negative and complaining. Among them, the most complained - about behaviors of Li Auto owners basically focus on "illegal parking", "cutting in line at will", and "driving in the wrong direction".

What's confusing is that these common problems may occur to drivers of any car brand. Why are Li Auto owners the ones being labeled like this?

Some netizens believe that since Li Auto has sold more than 1.33 million vehicles since its establishment, it's inevitable that "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel".

However, according to the sales data of domestic new - energy vehicle manufacturers in the first half of 2025, as of the end of June 2025, BYD's cumulative sales this year reached 2.146 million units, compared with 1.613 million units last year, a year - on - year increase of 33.04%. In contrast, Li Auto's cumulative delivery volume as of June 30, 2025, was only 1.337 million units. Compared with BYD, the proportion of Li Auto's owner group is not large.

*Image source: BYD official website

Another view is that the excessive marketing of new - force brands on social media and Li Xiang's "confrontational" personality have made Li Auto owners the scapegoats for complaints.

Before new - energy vehicles entered the public eye, traditional automakers were relatively restrained in their social - media presence. Except for appearing in financial news and their own brand activities, corporate executives rarely spoke publicly in their personal capacity. The marketing methods of traditional car brands also did not rely heavily on social media. Instead, they focused on traditional methods such as TVCs and user activities for a long time.

Therefore, although traditional car brands also have internet memes and jokes such as "the Emperor of Bathing (Cadillac)" and "the Three Mothers on the Road (Sunny, Corolla, and Levin)", the owners of these brands have not been as degraded and attacked on social media as Li Auto owners.

*Image source: Funny stickers sold on e - commerce platforms

However, with the rapid development of the new - energy vehicle market, social media has become the main communication platform for new - energy brands. Here, the feuds between executives and the squabbles between fans seem to have become the norm and even part of brand marketing.

Coupled with the video of Li Xiang getting angry on the reality show "Win in China: Blue Sky and Clear Water" and his "vulgar" remarks about range - extender technology at the 2020 Li Auto user day. As the founder of a company, Li Xiang's straightforward personality is indeed likely to trigger some people's ridicule and complaints on social - media platforms.

In addition, some netizens believe that the algorithm of social - media platforms plays an interfering role. "Once you watch, like, or even comment on such videos, the platform will often push similar ones." This statement does make some sense.

According to the results of a questionnaire survey conducted by the Southern Metropolis Big Data Research Institute in December 2024, nearly 98% of the respondents said they had encountered algorithm - related troubles on the Internet. In the survey, the highest proportion of respondents reported problems with personalized push. 64.49% of the respondents said that after browsing a certain topic/product/service, they found that the platform continued to push relevant content; at the same time, 53.78% of the respondents reported that after clicking "not interested" in such content, the platform still pushed similar messages; even 50.41% of the respondents said that after turning off "personalized recommendation", the platform still pushed relevant content based on their browsing history.

*Image source: Southern Metropolis Big Data Research Institute

It can be seen that new - energy vehicle brands use the communication efficiency of social media to achieve brand - marketing goals, but at the same time, they are also being backfired by social media.

Where Do the Stereotypes Come From?

Somewhere along the way, the image of car - owner groups on the Internet has been roughly simplified into malicious labels. For example, Li Auto owners are said to have a "reputation" for illegal parking, Tesla owners are regarded as "new - energy leeks", and talented netizens have even come up with jokes like "buying a NIO means experiencing a life of being a fool" and "BYD Tang cars are prone to spontaneous combustion". This kind of online meme - style group violence has spread like a virus.

The stereotypes carefully fabricated or spread blindly, seemingly "spontaneous creations" by netizens, actually hide an undercurrent of a combination of commercial manipulation and group prejudice. A careful observation will also reveal that social media's "condemnation" of car - owner groups follows an efficient production logic.

For example, Tesla, the so - called "evil big mouse": In addition to the well - known label of "unable to brake", Tesla owners are also portrayed as "leeks" (exploited by the brand) and "human guinea pigs". There are also so - called first - hand accounts of "hair loss and nosebleeds caused by driving a Tesla" without any scientific research support, and warning videos associating the musty smell of the air - conditioner with "chronic poisoning". Not to mention BYD's "spontaneous - combustion Tang" and Xiaomi's "green - belt warrior".

*Image source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu

These cases reveal the core formula for the generation of such labels: real story + emotional amplification + repeated dissemination. That is, after an individual event is posted on social media, it attracts users' attention due to personal emotions such as anxiety, fear, and ridicule, forming considerable online traffic. Then, after being recommended by the algorithm and forming an information cocoon, it is widely spread and finally solidified as the "original sin" of the car - owner group.

For example, when a user's video of a "Li Auto owner parking illegally" goes viral, a large number of relevant content on the platform will be recommended. After other users see that similar videos can generate traffic, they will also start creating content on the same theme. As a result, more and more content reflecting the same phenomenon appears on social media. But other ordinary users who are unaware of the situation will think that "all Li Auto owners park illegally", thus forming a negative stereotype.

A lawyer from Beijing Dacheng (Jinan) Law Firm said that simple objective recording does not constitute infringement. However, if someone specifically focuses on Li Auto vehicles to film violations, deliberately selects materials, and uses absolute statements like "99% of Li Auto owners are like this" to label the group, or even fabricates facts to degrade the entire group, this goes beyond the scope of supervision and constitutes an infringement of the corporate reputation of the enterprise.

In media interviews, some car owners have complained about being wrongly labeled. According to a report from Qilu Evening News, Ms. Qu, a car owner in Jinan, said in an interview that although she parked her car properly in a designated parking space in the community, she was accused of "illegal parking" to her face by a neighbor who had seen negative remarks about Li Auto owners online. What made her even more helpless was that once when she parked her car in a fixed parking space at a shopping mall, another car owner deliberately parked very close to hers and even blocked her way. When she asked the other person to move the car, the other person said, "You Li Auto owners deserve to be taught a lesson", which made her both aggrieved and angry.

*Li Auto owners speaking out on social media (Image source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu)

Most netizens are not aware that the stereotypes about car - owner groups largely come from social media's description and summary of the commonalities of car - owner groups. In these descriptions, car owners are often labeled with various negative tags, such as "low - quality" and "reckless driving". However, these labels often lack objectivity and comprehensiveness and are more based on the amplification and dissemination of individual events or extreme cases.

Behind the Labeling: The Collective "Victimization" of New - Energy Vehicles

Behind the damaged reputation of Li Auto owners is actually the intensification of competition and the deepening of disorderly competition in the new - energy vehicle industry.

Since 2023, the new - energy vehicle industry in China has entered a stage of rapid development. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2024, China's production and sales of new - energy vehicles reached 12.888 million and 12.866 million units respectively, ranking first in the world for ten consecutive years. In March this year, Wang Qing, the deputy director of the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that the sales volume of new - energy vehicles is expected to reach 17 million units this year, and the market share of new - energy passenger vehicles in China will be close to 58%.

However, behind these achievements, there is an issue that cannot be ignored, which is the "involution" among automakers.

Firstly, there is price involution.

Since May this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers issued an "Initiative on Maintaining a Fair Competition Order and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Industry", criticizing the disorderly "price war" in the domestic automobile industry as a typical manifestation of "involution - style" competition. It not only squeezes the profit margins of enterprises and hinders the development of the industry but also endangers the rights and interests of consumers and brings potential safety hazards. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that it agrees with and supports the initiative put forward by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and will strengthen the rectification of "involution - style" competition in the automobile industry, cooperate with relevant departments in anti - unfair competition law enforcement, and take necessary regulatory measures to resolutely maintain a fair and orderly market environment.

Stephen Dyer, the head of the automotive and industrial products consulting business in the Asia - Pacific region of AlixPartners, once said: "China is one of the most competitive new - energy vehicle markets in the world. It is experiencing a fierce price war, with a rapid pace of innovation and industry standards constantly being refreshed by new - force brands. Such an environment has promoted significant breakthroughs in technology and cost - efficiency, but it also makes it difficult for many enterprises to achieve sustainable profitability."

Secondly, there is marketing involution.

In April this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued an announcement on "The First Department of Equipment Industry Holding a Promotion Meeting on the Access of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products and the Management of Software Online Upgrades". The meeting emphasized that automobile manufacturers should comprehensively conduct combined driving - assistance testing and verification, clarify the functional boundaries of the system and safety response measures, avoid exaggerated and false publicity, strictly fulfill the obligation of notification, and earnestly assume the main responsibility for production consistency and quality safety to effectively improve the safety level of intelligent connected vehicle products.

This announcement was also reflected in the Shanghai Auto Show later: No automaker at the auto show played on the edge with fancy marketing concepts such as "full - scenario intelligent driving" and "zero takeover". Many Chinese and foreign automakers were very cautious when mentioning the intelligent functions of their own intelligent systems.

When the involution paths of price and marketing are "regulated", how to increase brand sales has become an important issue for each automaker. On the one hand, it is to fully invest in technological upgrading; on the other hand, it may be an opinion - war.

In March this year, at the China Electric Vehicle 100 - Person Forum (2025), a relevant official from the National Development and Reform Commission said that the problem of disorderly competition in the domestic automobile industry is quite prominent. Some enterprises are willing to sacrifice profits to seize the market, and phenomena such as false publicity and malicious slander also occur from time to time. In the future, efforts will be made to rectify market chaos, standardize the competition order, and maintain a fair competition environment.

The relevant department officials, without naming names, mentioned behaviors such as "sacrificing profits to