In the midst of intensifying competition within the Chinese automotive industry, tensions are rising between Great Wall Motors and BYD over the issues of “zero-kilometer used cars” and the “GAC circle,” while Huawei and Xiaomi have reignited their rivalry.
On the afternoon of May 31, Yu Chengdong, the Executive Director of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Terminal BG, criticized at the 2025 Future Automotive Pioneer Conference, stating that some cars have quality and safety issues, with some cars in the market not meeting basic quality standards still being “mass produced.” He proclaimed, “Huawei’s products in terms of quality, experience, performance, etc., are all better than these cars, but you still can’t outsell them, and you can’t even outsell their leftovers.”
Yu Chengdong urged the automotive industry to “combat bragging,” fight against “blind boasting,” and the reckless “baseless boasting” that disregards life safety. Although not directly naming names, it is widely believed that Yu Chengdong’s criticism was directed at Xiaomi Corporation.
Later that evening, Xiaomi Corporation’s President Lu Weibing posted on Weibo, stating that the success of the Xiaomi SU7 and the attention on the YU7 are both based on strong product power, and quoted the famous saying of the writer Mo Yan in retaliation, “Defamation itself is a form of admiration.”
Subsequently, Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun echoed the topic in a Weibo post, and the related discussions surged in popularity on Weibo.
Lei Jun introduced the delivery volume of the Xiaomi SU7 in May this year, previewed the large-scale production of the Xiaomi YU7, and wrote, “I just learned a saying from Mo Yan: Defamation itself is a form of admiration.” Afterwards, Lei Jun edited this Weibo post, deleting that sentence and only leaving relevant images and information about Xiaomi’s cars.
On June 2, Lei Jun posted again, expressing his belief that there is always a chance for newcomers, with the caption: newcomers may not be perfect at first, and they will be mocked and doubted, but newcomers always have a chance.
The exchange of words between Huawei and Xiaomi has sparked discussions among netizens.
Automobile blogger and Weibo influencer “Constantly Heading North” commented, “Huawei and Xiaomi are at it again, whose side are you on this time?”
Netizens responded, saying, “Exposing is not defamation, despising is not admiration, self-made quotes are not more convincing, if you have the ability, present evidence, otherwise it’s all empty talk.” “Yu Chengdong and Lu Weibing are no different, both are big talkers, no one is better than the other. However, competing with each other on product innovation is the right approach.” “Just here to watch the show, not picking sides.” “Both companies are gobbling up all the attention, it doesn’t matter if you support them or not, both are just raking in the traffic.”
Others commented on the design of Xiaomi and Huawei cars, saying, “Xiaomi cars’ design: opportunistic and reliant on imitation. Huawei cars’ design: lacks sophistication and has a strong sense of rustic charm.”