A Chinese blogger has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for fabricating negative claims regarding the safety of Xiaomi’s SU7 electric sedan, as reported by state media in Beijing on Friday.
Since last year, Chinese authorities have intensified efforts to combat false advertising, online misinformation, and other irregular practices within the highly competitive auto industry, amid concerns that misleading claims could distort consumer perception and competition.
Bloggers and online platforms have also been targeted for allegedly disparaging automakers or spreading misleading information.
The blogger, identified only by the name Gao, was found guilty by the Haidian District People’s Court for damaging the reputation of products by creating false facts and intentionally harming the reputation of the automaker Xiaomi, according to Beijing Daily.
In addition to the prison sentence, he was fined 100,000 yuan (approximately $14,800).
Details of the Blogger’s Actions Leading to Sentencing
In August 2024, Gao and his team released a video of a crash test that appeared to show the doors of the popular Xiaomi model, SU7, failing to open after a collision. The video also suggested that the vehicle’s emergency call system did not activate, and the central control screen remained dark, according to reports.
Xiaomi, known primarily as a smartphone manufacturer, expanded its operations to include electric vehicle sales in 2024.
The video posted by Gao on his video-sharing account, which had around one million followers, went viral, garnering about three million views.
The court found that Gao and his team had secretly altered the vehicle’s auxiliary battery before filming and used footage of a damaged battery from a forklift to mislead the public, according to Beijing Daily’s report.
Xiaomi stated in January last year that “a blogger and his accomplices, who had previously maliciously defamed Xiaomi Auto, have been arrested in accordance with the law.”
