Orders exceeded 60000 units within 72 hours of listing

Previously, the promotional slogan of a new energy vehicle when it was launched caused a sensation in the market. However, one year after its launch, the sales of the model did not exceed 60000 units. Nowadays, this kind of false marketing is the key target of the special campaign launched by six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to crack down on online chaos in the automotive industry.

We all know that in recent years, China's automotive industry has been undergoing tremendous changes. The rapid development of new energy vehicles, the widespread application of intelligent networking technology, and the increasingly fierce market competition have made this industry a focus of public attention.

However, behind this prosperity, some non-standard online behaviors have gradually emerged and spread. The opening scene is just the tip of the iceberg of non-standard online behavior. Such chaos as illegal profiteering, exaggerated propaganda, and malicious defamation occur frequently - yesterday, illegal profiteering was made through false information; Today, misleading consumers through false advertising; Tomorrow, defame and attack opponents to tarnish the reputation of the company .....

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

All of these, countless, have left the online environment of the automotive industry in a state of chaos.

These not only mislead consumers, but also damage the ecological environment for the healthy development of the industry, causing unbearable suffering for car enthusiasts in the industry. Some even angrily criticize that online chaos will eventually destroy the automotive industry. At present, the long-standing chaos in these toxic industries is expected to be "cleared" one by one as the country introduces policies to concentrate on rectification.

013 months, focusing on rectifying three types of problems

Recently, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Central Ministry of Social Work, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Notice on Launching a Special Campaign to Rectify Online Chaos in the Automotive Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), deciding to launch a three-month special campaign to rectify online chaos in the automotive industry nationwide.

This three-month nationwide rectification campaign directly targets three major types of chaos that have long existed in the automotive industry: illegal profiteering, exaggeration and false advertising, and malicious defamation attacks. The purpose is to regulate the competition order of the new energy vehicle industry, improve the quality and efficiency of handling online chaos, supervise enterprises to regulate marketing and publicity behavior, create a good public opinion environment, and safeguard the high-quality development of the automotive industry.

According to the notice, this special rectification action has the following major characteristics.

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

Firstly, it is jointly carried out by six departments, forming a regulatory pattern of multi departmental linkage. This collaborative regulatory model can integrate resources and forces from all parties, form a regulatory synergy, and improve the effectiveness of rectification. Each department, based on their respective responsibilities, has cracked down on online chaos from different perspectives, achieving comprehensive and three-dimensional supervision.

At the same time, this operation highlights the key and precise crackdown on chaos. The Notice clarifies the key issues for rectification, including illegal profit, exaggeration and false advertising, malicious defamation attacks, and covers the main manifestations of the current online chaos in the automotive industry.

Among them, the problem of illegal profit directly targets the "water army" account.

In the era of traffic as profit in the internet, car companies often complain that there are "water armies" who create false information to obtain improper commercial benefits, and even use AI technology to produce false content on a large scale to seek illegal benefits. Their harm and concealment have greatly increased.

And false advertising mainly targets car companies.

Recently, a car blogger exposed the widespread data fraud behavior of "small orders exceeding 10000" in the automotive industry. Car companies cleverly manipulate the data of "small orders" and "large orders" in the hands of the stock market. The so-called "small order" refers to customers prepaying thousands of yuan in refundable deposits to showcase the popularity of products to the market and investors, but it contains a lot of "moisture".

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

Moreover, internal employees of the brand are required to "voluntarily support" an order when a new car is released. A supplier once revealed that he alone had placed over 20 earnest money orders for a certain brand.

Malicious defamation attacks are the third type of chaos that will be targeted for rectification.

Some companies, with the aim of suppressing competitors, defame and attack automotive companies or products, tarnishing their reputation or product reputation. At the same time, organizing and manipulating online water armies, "black PR", "black mouth" and "fan circle" fans, linking and publishing false and negative information related to automobile companies and entrepreneurs, inciting netizens' emotions, engaging in a "war of words", and maliciously smearing competitors. Even senior executives of automobile companies have used their influence to create online battles, seriously disrupting the competitive order of the industry.

And this targeted rectification measure can accurately crack down on various illegal and irregular behaviors, and improve the efficiency of rectification.

In addition, the Notice not only requires centralized rectification, but also emphasizes the need to establish a long-term mechanism. By organizing enterprise self inspection, facilitating reporting channels, and conducting in-depth analysis and judgment, a long-term mechanism for the governance of the automotive industry's network environment will be established to prevent chaos from rebounding.

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

During this period, we also strengthened the platform's responsibility and played a pivotal role. Because online platforms are important channels for information dissemination and key links in governing online chaos. Therefore, the Notice requires online platforms to conduct in-depth self-examination and self correction, strengthen the identification and control of network water armies that use generative artificial intelligence technology, and improve product functions such as platform related enterprise infringement information complaints and reports, dispute tags, and one click association to refute rumors, in order to prevent false information from misleading the public.

Behind the chaos of the 02 network

Behind the chaos in the automotive industry's network is the cruel reality of continuous price wars, long-term losses of enterprises, and the elimination of a large number of new energy vehicle companies, as well as various reasons such as industry competition anxiety, traffic driven interests, and imperfect industry self-discipline mechanisms.

As of September 2025, the scale and intensity of price reductions in the Chinese automotive market have been significant. Among them, the price war of new energy vehicle models continues. In August, the average price reduction of new energy passenger vehicle models was nearly 20000 yuan, a decrease of nearly 15%. Some models had the highest price reduction of nearly half, and new energy vehicles are generally in a state of loss making sales.

Based on this, the automotive industry's profits will decrease by 7.3% year-on-year in 2024, with a profit margin of only 4.4% remaining; The average profit margin of the automotive industry in the first quarter of 2025 is only 3.9%, hitting a ten-year low.

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

Under the pressure of survival, anxiety constantly plays a role. After all, the automotive industry is going through a critical period of transition from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles, and the market landscape is facing reshuffling, with fierce clashes between old and new forces. In this context, some companies are facing enormous competitive pressure and have developed anxiety, attempting to gain a competitive advantage through unfair means, thus giving rise to various online chaos.

In addition, in the era where traffic is revenue, some people are willing to create and spread false information in pursuit of traffic and commercial interests. Due to the characteristics of fast speed, wide range, and strong concealment of online dissemination, it has brought huge challenges to regulation.

While the automotive industry is developing rapidly, the self regulatory mechanism and standards of the industry have not yet been fully established. Some companies lack long-term vision, are eager for success, ignore business ethics and social responsibility, and participate in or condone the emergence and spread of online chaos.

Governance of chaos in the car circle, waiting for a real hammer to be exposed

In this online chaos, the biggest victims are undoubtedly consumers. According to reports, some new energy vehicle models priced below 70000 yuan are reducing costs by eliminating airbags, switching to low-cost controllers, and even omitting OTA upgrade functions, resulting in vehicle quality issues becoming apparent. Data on automobile consumer complaints shows that the proportion of quality issues in the total number of complaints is on the rise.

Through this special rectification campaign, the online environment of the automotive industry is expected to be significantly improved, including the effective containment of illegal profits, exaggerated propaganda, malicious defamation and other chaos. At the same time, a clear cyberspace is conducive to automotive companies focusing on technological research and product innovation, enhancing core competitiveness, and promoting high-quality development of the industry.