The "Plastic World" in the Automobile Industry

The brotherhood among the bigwigs in the new energy vehicle circle has staged again.

On the eve of the launch of Li Auto's second pure - electric model, the Li Auto i8, Li Xiang, the founder of Li Auto, who is always good at marketing, said when referring to the location of the press conference, "If it's in Beijing, it's very likely to 'pay tribute to Xiaomi'. If it's not in Beijing, the cost is too high. In the end, it's still in Beijing."

Subsequently, Lei Jun reposted this Weibo post, saying, "It's okay to hold it in Beijing. We 'pay tribute' to each other. It's quite good." This statement gave Li Xiang a "reassurance pill".

Picture/Weibo content of Lei Jun and Li Xiang. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

This kind of overtures between executives from a distance is not the first time.

The warmth of the photo of the three founders of "NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto" shoulder - to - shoulder still lingers. After Lei Jun entered the market, the frequency of interactions increased, and the scale became more "radical": giving cars, exchanging cars, buying cars, and cheering for competitors' new products on interactive platforms. It can be said that there are all kinds of tricks.

In 2024, this kind of interaction reached a boiling point. First, at the press conference of Xiaomi SU7, bigwigs from half of the auto circle came to support, and the official Weibos of various companies interacted with each other. Later, at the Beijing Auto Show, the bigwigs stood up for each other.

However, behind the excitement, there is no lack of hidden struggles. Beneath the appearance of harmony, there is a lack of real unity. Once it comes to core interests, they will be tough and imply criticism without mercy.

For example, Lei Jun once said bluntly that there is serious homogenization in the auto circle, and that "competitors" rely on luck to develop products, which was interpreted as an implicit reference to established large manufacturers such as BYD. Recently, the quarrel between NIO and Li Auto has escalated from product interiors and space to stock prices, and it has been extremely intense.

So the question arises: Do the bigwigs in the auto circle have true friendship or just a superficial brotherhood?

1. Interaction and tacit understanding can't hide the fact that "business rivals are enemies"

At least for now, Li Auto and Xiaomi are not in direct competition. Since they are both Beijing - based enterprises, the interactions between Lei Jun and Li Xiang are mostly about encouragement and tribute.

Li Xiang's words, "Lei Jun's'reassurance pill' was a timely help", once again vividly demonstrated the "harmony" between the two bigwigs.

In fact, in the past two years, such interactions among the bigwigs in the auto circle have been often seen.

On June 23, Lei Jun officially announced the release time of Xiaomi YU7 on Weibo. Subsequently, Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, and Li Bin quickly reposted the Weibo post and sent their blessings.

Picture/Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, and Li Bin reposting Lei Jun's Weibo. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

Another example is that in 2024, NIO Day, the 10th - anniversary event of NIO, was held in Guangzhou. Coincidentally, it was the Winter Solstice. He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo, "The press conference was very busy and tiring. I guess you didn't even have time to eat. As the local host, I'll come to visit and bring some tangyuan for my brother." At the same time, he didn't forget to "confess his feelings" to Li Bin, saying, "We are brothers and also fellow travelers. Let's work together to make the world a better place a little bit."

Even earlier, He Xiaopeng also said on Weibo, "I went to Hefei two days ago to deliver the XPeng X9 to Li Bin. Next, I'm waiting for the ET9. I guess the test - drive reports and comparisons between us will be very interesting." All these interactions have created an atmosphere of industry mutual assistance.

Picture/He Xiaopeng personally delivering the XPeng X9 to Li Bin. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

A video shows that Lei Jun led the Xiaomi Auto team to visit NIO. After Li Bin introduced the advantages of battery - swapping models and stated that battery - swapping and charging are not in opposition, he invited Lei Jun to join the battery - swapping alliance. The atmosphere at the scene was very harmonious.

Besides on social platforms, the interactions among the bigwigs at various industry forums are also quite frequent. Recording videos and taking group photos together are common scenes. When talking about the future development and trends of the industry, they often nod in agreement with each other.

At the 2025 China Electric Vehicle 100 - Person Forum, dozens of bigwigs, including Li Bin, He Xiaopeng, Li Xiang, and Lei Jun, were all present. They expressed quite consistent views on topics such as "the industry is facing a ten - year test" and "trying to explore new tracks".

This has made "Expanding the market together" a phrase often mentioned by the bigwigs, aiming to emphasize that through the joint efforts in the industry, the scale of the new energy vehicle market will be continuously expanded; and statements like "Traditional fuel vehicles are the common enemy" have shifted the focus of competition to the outside, further highlighting the seemingly close "unity" within new energy vehicle enterprises.

However, behind the surface harmony, there are real confrontations.

Lei Jun once publicly said that Li Bin and He Xiaopeng gave him a lot of advice when he decided to enter the auto - making business. But now, with the success of the Xiaomi SU7 and the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7, NIO and XPeng Motors, which are also in the pure - electric field, have suffered a lot in the competition with Xiaomi Auto.

Even the interactions among the bigwigs are full of hidden motives. As mentioned in the above article, when Lei Jun announced the release time of Xiaomi YU7, the bosses of "NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto" all came to interact. But at the same time, they also seized every opportunity to advertise their own upcoming new cars, which made netizens think that they were just trying to ride on Lei Jun's popularity.

On July 11, Li Bin, the founder of NIO, directly retorted during a media group interview when talking about the fact that the Xiaomi YU7 broke the range record. He said, "As of today, no mass - produced vehicle has exceeded the performance of our 150 - kWh battery. So when someone said some time ago that it (Xiaomi YU7) set the longest pure - electric range record for SUVs, does our 150 - kWh battery not exist?"

Picture/Li Bin talking about the Xiaomi YU7 breaking the range record. Source/Screenshot from Beijing Business Today, New Energy Outlook

This has created a rather interesting phenomenon: When they get together, they talk about "industry standards", but after the event, they have their own agendas: no one will give in on battery - swapping, range - extending, intelligent driving, and ecosystem.

NIO adheres to the battery - swapping model, trying to build its core competitiveness in the energy - replenishment field; Li Auto focuses on range - extending technology to solve users' range anxiety; XPeng focuses on the research and development of intelligent driving technology; Xiaomi Auto relies on its own ecosystem advantages to build a unique ecosystem.

These differences make it difficult for the bosses of these car companies to truly "work together" on the core development path, which is also the root cause of the "lack of unity" and vividly reflects the saying that "business rivals are enemies" in the new energy vehicle industry.

2. The "competitors" striving to succeed have a "lack of unity" as the underlying tone

"Expand the market together", but the market is only so big, and everyone wants a larger share. This is an unspoken secret among the bigwigs.

However, in reality, the sales pressure faced by the bosses of new car - making brands varies.

In the first half of 2025, the "top position" among new car - making brands changed hands. Li Auto, the former leader, was overtaken by Leapmotor, and the gap with its "good brother" XPeng was less than 7,000 vehicles. This shows the intensity of market competition.

Picture/The top 10 cumulative sales of new - energy vehicle startups in China in H1 2025. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

In terms of the annual target completion rate, the performance of different brands has shown a significant gap. XPeng led the new - energy vehicle startups with a completion rate of 51.89%, showing strong market momentum; Xiaomi's annual sales completion rate was 45.12%, following closely behind. Li Auto sold 200,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, only completing 30% of its annual target. Such a result undoubtedly puts it under great sales pressure. NIO's performance was even more disappointing, only completing 25.94% of its annual target and looking a bit struggling in the market competition.

The difference in the target sales completion rate is directly reflected in the revenue situation of the enterprises. As the first new - energy vehicle startup in China to achieve profitability, Li Auto's net profit in the first quarter of 2025 decreased by 81.7% quarter - on - quarter. The lower - than - expected sales had a significant impact on its profitability; while XPeng, with its good sales performance, confidently set a clear goal of achieving profitability in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Picture/Partial financial data of Li Auto in Q1 2025. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

In such a market background, the relationship among the bigwigs has become very delicate. On the one hand, they interact frequently and praise each other in public, creating an atmosphere of harmony. On the other hand, they are secretly making efforts in product layout and are even willing to "stab in the back" their so - called "good brothers".

Although it seems that domestic independent car companies usually compare themselves with Tesla in public, in fact, from product positioning, price range to performance configuration, there is direct and fierce competition among new car - making brands.

Public information shows that the Xiaomi SU7, priced between 215,900 and 299,900 yuan, almost overlaps with the XPeng P7i and the NIO ET5T in terms of both vehicle positioning (all are mid - to - high - end sports sedans) and price range, forming a direct confrontation.

Picture/Xiaomi SU7 - XPeng P7i - NIO ET5T. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

Looking at the Xiaomi YU7 and the XPeng G7, they are also in direct competition. Although the XPeng G7 has an advantage in body size and other aspects over the Xiaomi YU7, Lei Jun's personal influence and large fan base accumulated over the years in the technology field are enough to offset the hardware advantage of the XPeng G7.

Picture/Xiaomi YU7 - XPeng G7. Source/Screenshot from the Internet, New Energy Outlook

This is why, although the price of the Xiaomi YU7 is not low, it still performs well in the market. The popularity of the slogan "far ahead" has brought absolute pressure to competitors and made the competition in this segment even more intense.

Meanwhile, although Li Auto seems to be different from XPeng, NIO, and Xiaomi in terms of power mode, in fact, the product competition is quite similar. The Li Auto L8, the NIO ES7, and the XPeng G9 are in direct competition. The Li Auto L8 targets family users; the NIO ES7 emphasizes high - performance and luxury experience, while the XPeng G9 promotes intelligent technology configuration. They are all competing for market share.