Qijing Auto Apologizes for Misfired Media Group Message as GX7 Pre-Sales and Xiaomi Cars Draw Attention

Qijing Auto said on September 10 that an internal work message was mistakenly sent to a media group and that staff later dissolved the group in haste. The company said the term “offense and defense” in the screenshot referred to internal monitoring of competing products, differentiation analysis and fact-checking, not a plan to attack rivals, according to Jiemian News. The incident came after a message about “Xiaomi Pengcheng offense and defense” was misfired in a media chat group titled “Online [Media Group 1] 9.4 Qijing GX7 Pre-Sales Launch.” Xiaomi Pengcheng launched four models on September 7, priced at 209,900 yuan, 239,900 yuan, 269,900 yuan and 299,900 yuan, and said orders exceeded 10,000 units in four minutes. Qijing GX7 opened pre-sales on September 4 with three versions priced at 249,900 yuan, 269,900 yuan and 311,900 yuan. The company said pre-sales topped 20,000 units in 18 hours and deliveries will begin at the end of September. Qijing Auto said GX7 is its second model and a large five-seat SUV with Huawei smart-driving and cockpit systems, while the company also disclosed that its first model, Qijing GT7, went on sale in June at 209,900 yuan to 329,900 yuan. Qijing Auto is a joint brand developed by GAC Group and Huawei's vehicle BU team. GAC chairman Feng Xingya said the project is a top strategic priority for the group, and Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU CEO Jin Yuzhi said both sides jointly decide and execute the product definition, design, development, testing, quality validation and launch process. On May 12, Qijing Intelligent Automobile Technology (Guangzhou) Co. completed more than 1 billion yuan in capital increase, bringing in CATL, an investment platform under Bosch and several state-backed investors, according to Jiemian News.