Recently, Yu Jingmin, the executive deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicles, was "cheerful" to Xiaomi Motors in an interview. He said that the shape of Xiaomi Su7 is obviously copied from Porsche, which is "so shameless".
also gave "affirmation" to Xiaomi, saying that there is nothing to be embarrassed about, as long as it succeeds. Of course, in the end, he also "saluted" and said that consumers will carefully consider what this brand does. Mobile phones are all about the same size, but cars will never be. This also seems to imply that Xiaomi cars will not last long.
I have to say that another "discipline inspection committee" has appeared in the automotive industry. There seem to be a lot of "righteous people" in the automotive industry recently. There are corporate CEOs, public relations directors, technical experts, and of course top car critics. It seems that overnight, everyone is "opening up". Why does this phenomenon occur in
? Does what Yu Jingmin said make sense? Let me share some personal insights with you.
(1) Plagiarism controversy, Xiaomi skillfully resolves
First of all, let me talk about my personal opinion. I don’t really like plagiarism. Even if the quality of Putian's shoes is better than genuine products and the price is only one-third, I will not consider them. Even some imitation brand shoes (patents have expired) with the slogan of "reloading" will not be bought by me, so I will do my best to support originality.
But I have to say that Xiaomi’s handling of this matter is absolutely textbook level.
First of all, did Xiaomi copy it? This is for sure. Anyway, when Xiaomi Su7 was first unveiled, everyone in the car circle had a very unanimous view, "How dare they"? Because anyone with a discerning eye can see that Xiaomi Mi Su7 is a copy of Porsche, a combination of Taycan and Panamera. Some fans also said that this is "innovation after imitation". Personally, I think it is unnecessary. It is so obviously copied. The design and body posture are exactly the same. It would be really ugly to continue to "wash" it.
However, the problem is actually not that big. Firstly, the design patent itself is difficult to determine plagiarism. Zotye went even further than Xiaomi back then, and Porsche failed to win the lawsuit. Secondly, the design patent of the Porsche Panamera It was applied for in 2011 and has expired. In theory, it can be used by car companies.
Porsche officials also specifically responded to this matter, saying that good design always has a clear understanding of the heart, which can be regarded as a more dignified chapter. It can also be regarded as the mainstream attitude in the car circle.
There is no legal problem, and Porsche officials have no intention of pursuing the case (in fact, they cannot). The only thing left is to deal with public opinion. After all, plagiarism is not a glorious thing. If you don't deal with it well, it can easily lead to problems, and Xiaomi's response is simply perfect.
Regarding looking like a Porsche, Xiaomi’s response is, who can refuse a girlfriend who looks like Liu Yifei? This answer is quite clever. Yes, my car just looks like a Porsche, but it’s not really a Porsche. It just looks like a Porsche. Isn’t that enough? Although it's a bit of a quibble, portraits of people and car portraits are really not the same thing, but the response is really perfect.
Even because of Xiaomi's large traffic and good reputation, some Porsche owners "modified" Xiaomi su7. Just put "xiaomi", "Beijing Xiaomi", "su7" and other logos on the rear of the Porsche, making it look like a Xiaomi car.
I have to say that Xiaomi’s operational capabilities are worthy of praise for being able to handle plagiarism to the current level.
(2) "Plagiarism" is considered normal, can SAIC not escape it?
Actually, having said that, the development history of the automobile industry is a "history of plagiarism". There is really nothing to say about this. The earliest American cars to rise were copied from German cars; then Japanese cars also started by being "OEM" for European and American car companies, and they also followed the "copycat" route in the early days; not to mention domestically produced cars, there were almost no cars that were copied in the early days. In fact, SAIC passenger cars cannot escape.
For example, the MG 6 of previous years was questioned by many people as a copycat from Mazda. Although SAIC has explained that it is of British origin and made sports cars in the early days, it is very reasonable to make sports sedans now.But people with a discerning eye can also see that the design is indeed "borrowed" from Mazda, or that the designers "think about it".
The designs of Lynk & Co and Ji Krypton are also considered by many to be "borrowed" from Porsche, but they are not as thorough as Xiaomi's. The recognized domestic car design of the Light Tank 300 is also said to be "borrowed" from the new model. Ford bronco exterior styling design.
These are just the appearance, and "plagiarism" in other aspects may be more serious. For example, the early Trumpchi GS8 was accused of having a Fiat engine and a reverse Highlander chassis. When most domestic SUVs start, they basically choose one of the three CR-V, Rongfang, and Tiguan cars. For example, the Haval H6 is considered a "reverse" CR-V.
I don’t think there is any problem with this. These international brands started earlier and have already mastered mainstream design and mainstream technology. Domestic cars started late, do they have to go through the pits they have stepped on again? It's not necessary.
Of course, domestically produced cars have also had some good original designs in recent years. For example, BYD Han's design is good. It is grand and stable, but also has a bit of Chinese style. Even the new Passat "borrowed" part of the design from BYD Han. At first, everyone was ready to criticize Volkswagen, but later it was discovered that BYD's designers were actually hired from Volkswagen. After a long time, it turned out that the two are "one family". There is no need to fight this "lawsuit", and there is no way to understand it.
In short, in the automotive industry, "plagiarism" is actually not very shameful. Of course, Xiaomi's approach is still a little excessive.
(3) It is not easy to be the "Discipline Inspection Commission", be careful of the backlash
The pressure on the automobile industry in the past two years has been so great that many relevant practitioners have no longer been "warm" and have taken the initiative to become "Discipline Inspection Commission". But I personally feel that while it is fun to directly attack your opponent, it can easily be backlashed.
Taking SAIC passenger cars as an example, sales from January to July this year were 385,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.19%. At this time, jumping out and directly attacking Xiaomi, even if it makes some sense, the effect will not be very good. Anyway, from the feedback I saw, most people were indifferent. Some people said, why is Porsche not in a hurry, and international car companies are not in a hurry, but these domestic car companies are in a hurry. Are they really in a hurry?
This is actually a bit like the previous attacks by Great Wall and Geely on BYD's normal pressure fuel tank. Legally speaking, the opponent has no flaws (this is also a red line), and it does not seem to cause any substantial harm to consumers. It is difficult to gain more resonance even if it is said that it is breaking the sky. . It is difficult to make consumers empathize with them if they are repeatedly "whipped", unless they themselves have opinions about Xiaomi or BYD.
And some things, even if they are true, must also consider the acceptability of consumers. For example, Tesla has had very few updates in recent years, and its two main models have indeed lagged behind in some aspects. But if some car companies crazily belittle Tesla, they can easily be backlashed. Consumers will instinctively feel that if you say you are so good, is it true? Are so many users who buy Tesla less smart than you?
On the contrary, if Xiaomi su7 takes the initiative to say that we have put in a lot of effort and the product is no worse than model 3, it can still win favor. Whether you are a Tesla fan or not, it is easier to accept.
In fact, in the final analysis, it is the product that speaks. Consumers will have the answer after they have tested it. To take the initiative to attack your opponent, you must be able to stand up in all aspects, and the opponent's problems are indeed lethal. If these two points are not met, it will most likely be counterproductive.
was written at the end of
. In the past two years, domestic car companies have been under great pressure indeed. We mentioned this before when we wrote about Yang Xueliang's attack on BYD. It is true that the pressure on the entire system has reached its limit, and car companies have to release it. As a result, we have seen more and more car company executives "gaffe". They are not convinced by BYD, Xiaomi, or Ideal. They want to beat them up from time to time. They do get some traffic, but most of them are consumers. "puzzled".
Personally, I think the more important thing is the product.Geely's Galaxy e5 and Xiaopeng's mona m03 were both instant hits, thanks to their outstanding cost-effectiveness and generous configurations. Including Geely Xingyuan, which is about to be released. Personally, I think it is a very competitive small car. It will not be a big problem to steal a part of the market from Dolphin and Seagull. However, SAIC did not see any action. There are not many attractive new cars. It is really hard to understand when it comes to attack its opponents at this time.
If we use our energy to attack our opponents and produce more good cars, the automobile market still has potential. What do you think?
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