Since entering the competition of new energy vehicles, car companies have become increasingly homogeneous in terms of modules and supply chains, with a significant trend towards product homogenization. Using excellent marketing strategies to make consumers unaware has become a goal pursued by many car companies. But we should also be vigilant that the proposal of new concepts for automobiles should be scientifically rigorous, which can cause jokes at the slightest and mislead consumers at the most, resulting in serious losses.

Recently, Zhao Dong, the head of the Planning Department of FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., directly pointed out on his personal IP account that when Lei Jun was talking about the Xiaomi YU7, he claimed that the wheel to axle ratio was three times, which was a small mistake. From Xiaomi's official PPT, it can be seen that three tires can be inserted between the front and rear wheels, and the ratio of wheelbase to tire diameter is 4, not 3. Xiaomi miscalculated here. ”

Zhao Dong bluntly expressed, "The concept of wheel axle ratio was proposed by Mr. Lei. Whenever it comes out of the mouth of a second person, I want to criticize him because my university is majoring in automotive science, and there is no such concept in automotive theory." In order to avoid being pursued by fans, Zhao Dong added, "Lei is always a business genius and a colleague whom I respect and admire, but geniuses also make occasional mistakes. Learning his ideas and methodology and blindly copying them without thinking is not enough

On June 26th, Xiaomi's first SUV model, YU7, was launched. When introducing the appearance of the new car, Lei Jun bluntly said that the design of Xiaomi YU7 is very attractive, and the core reason is the proportion. It has a 3x wheel to axle ratio, 2.1x wheel to aspect ratio, and 1.25x aspect ratio. "This is a luxury design accumulated in the century old luxury car industry. Subsequently, Xiaomi YU7 set a record of 200000 units in just three minutes, becoming a "miracle" in the history of the automotive industry.

Just a few days ago, Zhao Dong posted on Weibo, emphasizing that the axle ratio of FAW Toyota bZ5 and Xiaomi YU7 is the same, both are so beautiful, and their classic designs are similar. Zhao Dong also corrected a small mistake made by Lei Jun: "The wheel to axle ratio of Xiaomi YU7 is 4 times, not 3 times. ”

However, the comment section exploded, with some netizens commenting: 'With such uneducated executives, there's really no need to worry about the joint venture being able to do well.'; Some people also say, 'Several brands claim to have a triple wheel to axle ratio, so we can't have so many car companies make the same mistake at the same time.'. Zhao Dong is also not used to it and directly retorted that both his undergraduate and graduate degrees were obtained from 985 universities.

When I heard Mr. Lei talk about concepts such as wheel to axle ratio and wheel to height ratio, I didn't dare to refute them. I was afraid that I was inexperienced or had graduated from university for a long time, so there might be updates in automotive theory, "Zhao Dong explained. Recently, when I went back to Changchun for a business trip, I specifically asked a classmate who works in car body design to verify and confirm that these concepts were all defined by Xiaomi. Lei Jun, the general genius, quantified the descriptions of these car body shapes

When Xiaomi YU7 proposed a 3x wheel to axle ratio, consumers may not have had much concept, similar to the 0.618 golden ratio, but felt it was unclear and at most paid tribute to Ferrari. However, car companies seem to have discovered a marketing "new continent", including models such as Dongfeng Nissan N7, all-new Zhiji L6, and Xiangjie S9T, all of which advertise a 3x wheel to axle ratio.

Zhao Dong joked about this and said, 'I really didn't realize that after Xiaomi YU7, so many car companies have found that their wheel axle ratio is three times.'. He changed the subject and said, 'A three times wheel to axle ratio is for tractors, and passenger cars cannot have that number.'. It's like taking a cheat sheet during an exam and copying what others did wrong

Interestingly, on the evening of August 11th, Lei Jun initiated a discussion on social media regarding the renaming of Xiaomi YU7 Standard Edition. He emphasized that the YU7 standard version has powerful configuration, with a range of 835 kilometers, surpassing some competitors' Pro or Max versions, and is not a "beggar version". Lei Jun solicited opinions from netizens on whether to rename it as Pro or Max version and initiate online voting.

This inevitably brings to mind the classic scene of Luo Yonghao ordering coffee at Starbucks. When Luo Yonghao pointed to the middle cup and said, "I want this medium cup," the waiter politely replied, "I'm sorry, sir, this is a large cup. We only have medium, large, and extra large cups here. After a battle, Luo Yonghao was ultimately unable to convince the shop assistant and angrily slapped himself and exhaled fragrance.

As a celebrity with outstanding eloquence, Luo Yonghao still lost the battle, which shows the helplessness of ordinary consumers when facing "medium, large, and extra large cups". Fortunately, as of now, 16000 out of 22000 people who participated in the vote support maintaining the "Standard Edition" name, with only a few supporting changing it to Pro or Max.

Compared to some car companies blindly following the trend of "3x wheel to axle ratio" traffic dissemination, Zhao Dong was able to discover the error of Xiaomi's "wheel to axle ratio", which confirms the importance of the top executives of the company sticking to the front line. In the era of traffic, not only ordinary people need to have the ability to think independently, but if some car companies are led astray in their professional fields, they can only find reasons from themselves for not selling well.

Of course, whether it's the small mistake of miscalculating the wheel to axle ratio in the new concept or the shocking appearance of car grade tissue boxes, Xiaomi's marketing is already a breathtaking presence for many car companies.

However, the internal competition and harm caused by excessive marketing have become apparent. Faced with chaos, the sword of regulation has already been unsheathed, and this marketing feast of creating words and memes will gradually become standardized.

On June 19th, three departments jointly held a video conference to strengthen the safety management of new energy vehicles, requiring vehicle manufacturers and power battery manufacturers to consciously shoulder the main responsibility for product quality and safety, and to do a good job in risk prevention around product design verification, production and manufacturing, after-sales service, etc., strictly fulfill the obligation of notification, guide consumers to use vehicles correctly, not exaggerate or falsely advertise, and firmly adhere to the safety bottom line. We must adhere to long termism, avoid "internal competition", never cut corners, pass off inferior products as good, and achieve short-term "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" at the expense of sacrificing product performance and quality.