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Yu Chengdong and Lei Jun. Photo: QQ News . |
On June 1, Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, posted on his social media account a quote from writer Mo Yan: “Defamation is also a form of admiration.” The seemingly gentle statement was actually a response to Huawei CEO Yu Chengdong after he heavily criticized Xiaomi at a conference.
Lei Jun was absent from the Future Car Pioneer Conference held on May 31. There, Yu Chengdong said many things that were considered to be attacking Xiaomi, although he did not mention them by name.
Criticisms included "the company is only good at marketing, but the products are average", or "should not be exaggerated blindly, endangering life safety". He said that Huawei's quality and products are better, but people in this era still prefer cheap products, leading to lower revenue.
Xiaomi also responded harshly to the above move. In addition to Lei Jun, CEO Lu Weibing and Xiaomi's electric vehicle vice president Li Xiaoshuang also cited the statement said to be by Mo Yan.
The next day, Wang Hua, Director of Xiaomi's Communications Department, posted an article with the content: "The reed on the wall is leaning, light-footed and has shallow roots. The young bamboo shoot in the mountain has a sharp mouth, thick skin but hollow inside."
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Lei Jun's post on social media. Photo: Weibo. |
Just a few days ago, Wei Jianjun of Great Wall Motors attacked an “Evergrande of the automobile industry”. Evergrande is a real estate group that was once the largest in China but fell into a serious debt crisis, and their electric car project was also considered a “gimmick”, without a real quality product.
The comparison to Evergrande means that the company is only superficial and good at communication, but empty inside, wasting resources. Although not mentioning the name, BYD's communications director, Li Yunfei, posted 5 consecutive posts on Weibo in response.
However, unlike Great Wall and BYD, Lei Jun and Yu Chengdong are both masters in the field of Internet marketing. Yu is nicknamed “big mouth”, while Lei Jun is recognized by many “big names” in the industry such as Liu Qiangdong.
The spat comes as the China Automobile Manufacturers Association has issued several statements in recent days calling for an end to the price war. However, it seems that many of the industry's leading companies are now less concerned.
China's electric vehicle industry is entering a "cleansing phase", with supply far exceeding demand, similar to the real estate market in 2019. Among them, WM Motor and HiPhi have collapsed, and the remaining companies are also in a precarious situation.
Before 2024, when Xiaomi had not officially launched its first electric car (Xiaomi SU7), the relationship between the two sides was quite amiable. Lei Jun had praised Huawei's technological development, and in return, Yu Chengdong had also shared positive views on the smart device ecosystem, a market Xiaomi occupies a large part.
Objectively speaking, the Huawei chairman’s statement is partly true. A study from Curtin and Trinity Western Universities found that luxury car brands tend to over-market their products. This reduces fair competition as well as the attractiveness of the industry as a whole to consumers.
On China’s QQ forum, some people argue that such a war of words is necessary because not everyone with an opinion can speak freely like that. Each side’s fan community is very loyal, and ready to defend their brand when attacked.
The war of words does not determine right or wrong, but shows the development direction of two companies with opposite communication strategies. While Huawei focuses on building a high-class brand image, focusing on quality and advanced technology, Xiaomi promotes the power of the community, making the most of social networks.
Source: https://znews.vn/sep-xiaomi-va-huawei-khau-chien-post1557658.html
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