On March 10th, a sales anchor at a BMW store in Shanghai sparked controversy on the internet by mocking Xiaomi’s cars during a live stream, using phrases like “mixed grain brand.” Xiaomi also responded to the incident, which quickly gained traction on social media platforms.
According to netizens, a female anchor at the Baicheng Central BMW 5S store in Shanghai made derogatory remarks about Xiaomi cars and their owners multiple times during a live broadcast selling cars.
In the video, the anchor can be heard saying, “I can eat a chicken made in 180 days, but I really dare not drive a car made in 180 days… BMW’s quality is much better than Xiaomi cars, which is a mixed grain brand. I wouldn’t buy rice, I wouldn’t drive it.” She also mentioned, “When I see a car owner of that brand on the road, I will step on the gas to catch up and see what they look like.” In another video segment, the anchor further remarked, “BMW X5 owners can casually buy Xiaomi, but Xiaomi owners cannot casually buy BMW X5.”
The circulated clips sparked heated discussions, with many netizens criticizing the anchor for “publicly belittling a competing brand” during live sales. Some BMW owners commented that century-old car companies should rely on quality and reputation, not on degrading others. In response to the criticism, the anchor stated in the comments section that she was only “stating facts.”
On the morning of March 10th, a partner from Xiaomi’s Industry Investment Department responded, praising BMW as a great car company and mentioning that many friends and relatives are BMW owners. He emphasized that after the listing of Xiaomi cars, many senior executives from European and Japanese car companies had come to exchange ideas. He also urged consumers to test drive and compare cars to judge their quality based on real experiences.
In the afternoon of the same day, the anchor continued live streaming on her personal account and denied “riding on the traffic” when responding to netizens’ doubts, attributing some criticism to “water army.”
With the increasing attention on Xiaomi cars since their listing, controversies surrounding public opinion about Xiaomi cars have sparked discussions on social media platforms.
In April 2024, Jia Yueting, the founder of Faraday Future, criticized Xiaomi’s cars on social media, expressing concerns about their “copycat culture, shortcut approach, and follower mentality.” His comments went viral, sparking widespread discussions.
During the same period, the official account of the car brand Cadillac posted several posters with mocking tones, saying, “Sorry, messed up 120 years of marketing suddenly.” One of the posters mentioned, “Sorry, Encore isn’t into learning. We are neither like Porsche nor like Tesla, we just want to do our own thing beautifully.”
Some netizens interpreted this as a jab at Xiaomi SU7. Cadillac officials later responded that they had received “everyone’s criticism and attention… we were just joking around.”
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