In a series of late-night announcements on April 9th, Xiaomi has demanded an apology from Zhi Ji, with the company issuing a formal apology on behalf of its entity.
The genesis of this issue stems from Zhi Ji's conduct during the launch event of its new vehicle, L6, where it extensively compared itself to Xiaomi's SU7 Max. However, Zhi Ji erroneously labeled the front and rear dual silicon carbide as "front IGBT" and "rear silicon carbide," respectively. Despite numerous alerts from netizens, these inaccuracies remained uncorrected for an extended period.
Xiaomi stated that it's incredulous for Zhi Ji, a subsidiary under SAIC Group, to make such a mistake, raising doubts whether it's due to incompetence or intentional slander.
Following this, Liu Tao from Zhi Ji issued an apology through his personal account, attributing the error to incorrect product research.
Xiaomi has not accepted, stating once again that they do not accept lightly worded informal apologies. Xiaomi then released another statement:
Regarding the recent repeated harassment and defamation by SmartSelf, our tolerance has its limits.
We firmly believe that SmartSelf's unreasonable, illegal, and undignified behavior is completely inconsistent with SAIC Group's corporate culture, values, and industry position, as well as with the historical trend of solidarity and development in China's new energy vehicle industry.
On this matter, we will no longer respond. If we do not receive a formal public apology from SmartSelf, we will use legal means to protect our rights. We urge SmartSelf for the last time to issue a formal apology immediately.
It's worth noting that the marketing issues surrounding the Zhiji L6 extend beyond what's been mentioned. Some netizens have noticed that the description on its reservation app page reads, "Xiaomi's Lei Jun invites you to experience Zhiji cars," which has drawn criticism from many.
