On July 30, 《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》 (Reporter Qiu Siyu) reported that Ma Lin, assistant vice president of NIO brand and communications, stated on social media platform: "The meaning of the weekly ranking is a bit low-level internal competition, and Li Xiang, @Li Xiang, stop it. Isn't the current mission of Chinese car companies to achieve technological breakthroughs through research and development?"

Later, Ma Lin further added: "Every month, each company will announce the delivery volume after audit. This monthly figure basically reflects the operating situation of the car company at that time, which is more effective for users to understand the market situation and help you make consumption decisions. Everyone has a curiosity, I can understand it especially. But the weekly ranking will interfere with the normal operation of the enterprise."

The "Li Xiang" mentioned by Ma Lin is the CEO of Li Auto, but as of the time of publication, Li Xiang has not publicly responded to this matter.

The official Weibo account of Li Auto released the new energy brand weekly sales data ranking for the 30th week of 2024 (July 22 to July 28) today.

In the new forces brand sales rankings for the 30th week in the Chinese market released by Li Auto, Li Auto ranked first with 0.0128 million vehicles sold, Wanjie ranked second with 0.0105 million vehicles sold, and NIO ranked third with 0.0054 million vehicles sold.

In addition, in its publication of the "Chinese Market Luxury Brand Sales" and "Chinese Market New Energy Brand Sales" rankings for the 30th week, Li Auto ranked fifth and third, respectively, and NIO Auto ranked seventh in both rankings.

The official Weibo account of Li Auto has disclosed weekly sales rankings of automobile brands many times before.

Among them, looking at the data from the four weeks in July, Li Auto's weekly sales volume ranked first for 14 consecutive weeks in the new forces brand sales rankings in China. NIO ranked third (week 27), fourth (week 28), fourth (week 29), and third (week 30).

Looking back, in the 11th week of this year (March 11 to March 17), Li Auto's weekly sales volume was 0.007 million vehicles, ranking second in the new forces brand sales volume, and was surpassed by Wanjie's 0.0086 million weekly sales volume.

At the recent NIO IN 2024 NIO Innovation and Technology Day, Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, also mentioned that "the weekly sales data circulated in the market does not have rigor and is not NIO brand Official authorized behavior."

As of the time of publication, Li Xiang and Li Auto have not publicly responded to this matter.

Behind the controversial "weekly list"

The reporter of Star Daily noted that at the end of the 30th weekly list published by Li Auto, it was stated that "Note: The sales referred to in this article are calculated differently from the delivery data released on the 1st of each month."

Regarding the difference in statistical calibers for weekly and monthly lists, industry insiders in the automotive industry told reporters from Star Daily that "the weekly list usually refers to the number of vehicles insured by China Insurance Center, while the monthly list is wholesale or retail sales."

It is reported that the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers will release data on new energy passenger car retail sales, wholesale sales, retail sales, export volumes, etc. every month. Major new energy vehicle brands will also announce the previous month's vehicle delivery volume at the beginning of each month.

Which statistics are more "scientific" in terms of statistical caliber and statistical duration?

In the view of Zhang Xiang, the Secretary General of the International Association of Intelligent Transport Technology, "the weekly list is mainly used for enterprise market promotion and has little significance for consumers."

"Previously, automobile sales were calculated on a monthly basis, and the release frequency was not so fast. Usually, the sales numbers at the beginning of the month are paid data. However, after the new forces entered, they rolled up, and the sales of the weekly list have little reference value for consumers." Zhang Xiang believes that "the statistical duration of weekly data is too short. Generally speaking, there must be a certain length of statistical unit to reflect the real operating conditions of an enterprise, and even the statistical duration of the monthly list is too short."

As for which data such as insured amount, wholesale volume, and retail volume are more "scientific," Zhang Xiang stated that each data has different calculation calibers and the timing of their statistics is also different, so it is meaningless to argue the "scientificity" of the data. "But overall, consumers do not require real-time data, and the weekly data released by companies is just a show of being rolled up."

Regarding Qin Lihong's statement that "weekly sales data has not been officially authorized by Li Auto," Li Chao, a expert from Kangde Zhiku and attorney at Shanghai Dongdao Law Firm, stated that if a third-party organization publishes its sales data without authorization from a car company, it may constitute infringement of that company's trade secrets.

"However, this usually depends on the method of obtaining the data, the purpose of its release, and whether it has caused actual harm to the car company. If the third-party organization's data source is legal (such as public information, market research, etc.) and the purpose of its release is not maliciously harming the interests of the car company, then the legal risk may be relatively low." Li Chao further added.

In addition to the issue of data authorization, Li Chao also mentioned the issue of data accuracy. He said, "If the data is seriously incorrect or misleading, it may constitute false advertising or misleading consumers, thereby causing legal disputes. In addition, if the data is used for business decisions or investment analysis, it may also cause economic losses to third parties, which in turn may lead to litigation."

Regarding the controversial event, Li Chao believes that "the automobile industry should strengthen self-discipline, establish uniform standards and norms for data release, in order to reduce unnecessary disputes and misunderstandings."