<div id="readability-page-1"><blockquote><ul><li>Li Auto CEO accused a &#34;Japanese brand&#34; of launching organized online attacks to damage the market reputation of its core products.</li><li>The rare public dispute highlights escalating tensions in China's auto market following the launch of Nissan's NX8 SUV.</li></ul></blockquote><figure id="attachment_139254"><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cnevpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026041201125996.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="1600" height="900" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cnevpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026041201125996.jpg"/><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139254">(File photo shows a Li L6. Image credit: CnEVPost)</figcaption></figure><p>Li Auto founder, chairman, and CEO Li Xiang publicly complained that his company has been severely hit by unfair competition tactics, strongly hinting at Japanese automaker Nissan Motor's joint venture in China.</p><p>In two posts on his personal WeChat status on Saturday, Li accused a &#34;Japanese brand&#34; of hiring an army of internet trolls to maliciously smear Li Auto's products.</p><p>He claimed the rival used a massive number of social media accounts to fabricate false information and flood the comment sections of Li Auto's products, disrupting the company's normal operations.</p>    <div>        <p><span>Join us on </span>            Telegram            <span> or </span>            Google News        </p>    </div><p>Although Li did not name the competitor directly, widely reported screenshots of his WeChat posts clearly pointed the finger at Dongfeng Nissan.</p><p>Just two days earlier on April 9, Dongfeng Nissan launched its all-new NX8 sport utility vehicle (SUV), its first model offering extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) options, to double down on the Chinese market.</p><p>With an official starting price of 149,900 yuan ($21,950), the new model secured a massive number of orders within half an hour of its launch, driven by an aggressive pricing strategy.</p><p>During the NX8 launch event, Dongfeng Nissan executive Xin Yu repeatedly made direct and in-depth comparisons in his public speech between the company's new technology and Li Auto, widely regarded as the EREV pioneer in the Chinese market.</p><p>Leaked internal training materials and public relations briefings reported by local media further revealed that Dongfeng Nissan explicitly targeted Li Auto's Li L6 EREV SUV and Li i6 pure electric SUV as its core benchmark competitors.</p><p>The Li L6 is Li Auto's most affordable EREV model, while the Li i6 is its lowest-priced battery electric vehicle (BEV), both starting at 249,800 yuan.</p><p>In response to the sudden surge of disparaging content on social media platforms, Li Auto's legal department announced on Weibo on Saturday that it had completed all preliminary evidence collection.</p><p>The company said it will report the case to public security authorities and file lawsuits to hold the masterminds and perpetrators legally accountable.</p><p>Wang Qian, general manager of Dongfeng Nissan's new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, subsequently issued an official response to the allegations in an attempt to quell the escalating industry uproar.</p><p>In his response posted on Weibo, Wang said Dongfeng Nissan has always strictly adhered to industry rules and advocated healthy competition, adding that the company respects every peer, including Li Auto.</p><p>This fierce public relations clash unfolds against the backdrop of a special campaign launched by Chinese regulators since 2025 to crack down on excessive competition in the auto sector.</p><p>As China's NEV market shifts from incremental expansion to a zero-sum game, cutthroat competition among automakers has led to a sharp decline in overall industry profit margins.</p><p>The overall profit margin of China's auto industry fell to just 4.1% in 2025, hitting its lowest level since 2015, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).</p>    <div>        <div>            <p><img width="768" height="432" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cnevpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026041003220890-768x432.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cnevpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026041003220890-768x432.jpg"/>                            </p>        </div>        <div>            <p>Li Auto sees 100,000th i6 SUV roll off line as production accelerates</p>            <p>Li Auto produced 20,000 Li i6s in just 21 days, meaning the electric SUV's deliveries are poised to hit a new high this month.</p>                    </div>    </div>    <p>($1 = 6.8280 yuan)</p>                                                                                </div>

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<p>Li Auto CEO Li Xiang accused Nissan of orchestrating online attacks to damage Li Auto's reputation, hinting at unfair competition tactics. This public dispute arises as Nissan launched its NX8 SUV, which directly competes with Li Auto's models. Li Auto's legal team is preparing to take action against the alleged smear campaign. In response, Nissan's general manager emphasized their commitment to healthy competition. The incident highlights increasing tensions in China's auto market, where profit margins have sharply declined amid fierce competition.</p>

- Li Auto CEO Li Xiang accused a "Japanese brand," implicitly referring to Nissan, of orchestrating online attacks to undermine Li Auto's products following the launch of Nissan's NX8 SUV.  
- He claimed that a coordinated effort involving numerous social media accounts aimed to spread false information about Li Auto, disrupting their business operations.  
- In response to these attacks, Li Auto's legal team is preparing to take action against the perpetrators, while Dongfeng Nissan denied the allegations and emphasized its commitment to healthy competition in the industry.

Li Auto CEO slams unfair competition tactics, pointing finger at Nissan