Throughout the entire history of Chinese business, it is not uncommon for companies to report each other. What is rare is that in the past, such reports were conducted covertly or through intermediaries. It is the first time that a company has personally made a report and publicly spread it — Great Wall specifically wrote a report statement and released it through the official Weibo account and WeChat public account. As of the time of writing, the Weibo post has garnered over 3,000 comments and 20,000 likes, while the WeChat article has received over 1,000 likes and 100,000+ reads.
The reason why Great Wall Motors took such action may be influenced by the “fandom culture” prevalent in the automotive industry. If you open the repost list of the reported Weibo post or check the comment section of related Weibo discussions on this matter, you will see countless instances of “mutual attacks and even insults” between fans of Great Wall and BYD. The fans of the two companies refer to each other as “Teddy” and “CC,” using Great Wall’s sales figures or the recent price reduction controversy of BYD to attack each other.
Automotive blogger Chang Yan said, “At least since 2023, in the world of Great Wall and BYD car owners, there are no other brands except for each other. Some opinions are infinitely amplified, and most of the time, people are not discussing the facts but expressing emotions and taking a stance, just like fans in the entertainment industry.”
In fact, the entire new energy vehicle industry is experiencing a trend towards “fandom culture.” Since Tesla entered China in 2014, its CEO, Elon Musk, has used social media to promote the brand, and new energy vehicle companies have departed from the traditional automotive industry’s low-key approach, getting infinitely closer to users in terms of marketing, publicity, and operations.
For example, new electric vehicle startups have their own official apps or communities, and the founders register accounts and personally interact with users. The senior management of companies like NIO even give out red envelopes in owner groups and have established offline gathering spaces like NIO House, enriching the lives of car owners and expanding their social networks.
