"There are many people on the Internet who are taking things out of context and distorting and smearing them." Lei Jun finally couldn't hold back and responded publicly. The founder of Xiaomi, who has always been known as a "model worker" and "gentle", suddenly went full force on Weibo, posting multiple updates in a row. The tone is also very rare and emotional, and every sentence responds to the outside world's doubts about Xiaomi's "emphasis on appearance and safety". Discussions immediately started, and entries related to "Lei Jun refuting rumors" also became hot searches.
At the same time, the change in Xiaomi’s public relations position also made this wave of responses seem more intriguing.
"Lei Jun refuted rumors" became a hot search topic
The incident happened suddenly. Lei Jun posted three consecutive posts on Weibo, publicly responding to online questions about the "safety and good looks of Xiaomi cars", believing that some public opinions were taken out of context.
Not only did he summarize many of his old Weibo posts about safety awareness and R&D standards, but he also added the release time when forwarding them - all before the release of Xiaomi SU7.
The direct trigger for this response came from an interview video in April last year.
Some netizens revealed that he mentioned at the time that "a car should look good first" and that "wheels are the most difficult to design", which was interpreted by some netizens as "Xiaomi cars put more emphasis on appearance than safety".
Faced with these doubts, Lei Jun said that this was only talking about the dimension of product design, and asked: "Is this contradictory to 'safety is the foundation and safety is the premise'?", "When I talk about design, I say that wheel hubs are the most difficult to design. What's the problem with this?"
From the text in the screenshot, we can feel that Mr. Lei’s language style is different from the past, and it is rare to ask questions one after another with emotion.
In order to prove his innocence, he posted screenshots of his Weibo at the end of 2023 and early 2024 to prove that Xiaomi Motors had established strict safety standards in the early stages of research and development——
It has been emphasized many times that "safety is above all else."
At that time, these original bloggers also revealed that Xiaomi cars used more than 90% of high-strength steel and aluminum, a structure with a torsional stiffness of 51,000Nm/deg, and a battery with 14 layers of hard-core protection...
For a while, "Lei Jun refuted rumors" and "Lei Jun posted multiple Weibo posts to refute rumors" became hot searches and once reached No. 6 on the hot list.
In the Weibo comment area this time, you can also see that he added several replies, saying that "many people on the Internet have taken things out of context and distorted and smeared them."
At the World Intelligent and Connected Vehicle Conference a month ago, the call to boycott Internet trolls and "black PR" seems to still be lingering...
On the day when Mr. Lei came off to respond to the question, another news about Xiaomi’s public relations and personnel changes was also noticed by the outside world.
Xiaomi’s public relations position No. 1 was revealed to have been transferred to another position
Whether it is a coincidence or not, according to multiple media reports, Wang Hua, general manager of the public relations department of Xiaomi Group, is about to transfer to another position and will no longer be responsible for public relations affairs.
Everyone may be familiar with Wang Hua. He is the core figure in Xiaomi's public relations system. He has been with Xiaomi for ten years and is often active in the public eye.
△Wang Hua
Wang Hua first joined Xiaomi in July 2015. Before that, he was a media person with more than ten years of experience. It can be said that he entered the industry just after graduating from Sichuan University.
That year, because of an event in Sichuan, Wang Hua became acquainted with Xiaomi's founding team, and his abilities were recognized by Xiaomi. Later, co-founder Lin Bin personally recruited him...Wang Hua also started his career in Beidiao.
Wang Hua first worked in the marketing department, and later transferred to the public relations department, under the command of "Sister Yun" Xu Jieyun.
When I joined Xiaomi, the company had not yet established a dedicated public relations department.
Therefore, Wang Hua initially worked in the large marketing department of Xiaomi.com, responsible for the company's sales support-related matters - this department can now be regarded as the predecessor of Xiaomi Group China.
At the end of 2020, Xu Jieyun became the first batch of people to be rotated in response to the requirements of the cadre rotation system, and the daily work of the public relations department was handed over to Wang Hua. He was promoted to deputy general manager of the public relations department of Xiaomi Group, and was promoted to general manager of the public relations department the following year.
During the ten years and four years he has been at the helm of Xiaomi's public relations department, Wang Hua was the first to respond and deal with rumors and controversies when rumors and controversies arose at Xiaomi. The outside world once called him Xiaomi's "firefighting captain."
Just in July this year, on the tenth anniversary of Wang Hua joining Xiaomi, he also received public thanks from Lei Jun and Lin Bin. Like Xu Jieyun, Wang Hua is also known as "Master Hua" because of his chivalrous character. Lei Jun and Lin Bin also called him "Master Hua" several times.
But looking at it now, Mr. Hua has to say goodbye to the number one public relations position.
As for where Wang Hua will transfer next, there is no further specific information yet.
It is reported that Wang Hua should be promoted this time, and Xiaomi will officially issue a notice this week. As for the new No. 1 position in Xiaomi’s public relations department, it is said that interviews are already underway and the vacancy will be filled soon.
It is almost foreseeable that the new No. 1 position will be under great pressure.
However, for Xiaomi Motors, it has experienced several fluctuations in public opinion this year. Whether the Internet trend is black or red, Xiaomi Motors' sales have not been significantly affected.
On the contrary, with the increase in production capacity and the launch of YU7, sales increased even more sharply after the third quarter. Sales exceeded 30,000 units in July and August, and directly reached more than 40,000 units in September and October.
Detailed sales data released by the Passenger Car Association in October showed that Xiaomi Motors sold 48,654 units in October, ranking eighth among domestic car companies in the retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles and third among new power car companies and brands.
Among them, the sales volume of Xiaomi SU7 in October was 14,992 units and Xiaomi YU7 was 33,662 units.
During the same period, Tesla China's monthly wholesale sales were 61,497 vehicles, and exports reached 35,491 vehicles, which means domestic sales were 26,006 vehicles.
Data from multiple sources indicate that Model Y sales in the Chinese market in October were 19,488 units.
In other words, in the domestic market, pure electric vehicles at the same price range that surpass the benchmark Model Y have already appeared.
The next new model of Xiaomi Motors has been basically determined: a large 6-seater SUV...
This is a more intense track, which is actually more conducive to Xiaomi's "people and car expert" performance. There is no doubt about Xiaomi's product strength and marketing capabilities.
The only uncertainty is still public opinion. Xiaomi has fallen into the biggest public opinion crisis since its founding. It is not about a specific product, but the reputation and image of Xiaomi as a whole.
Under this kind of challenge, Wang Hua, the number one PR position of Xiaomi who was completely "self-developed", was transferred to another position, which increased the variables and challenges.
Perhaps it’s time for Xiaomi to make changes.