Li Auto Software Update Contains Overlord Clause; Delivery Volume Expected to Decline in Q3

Sep 22, 2021, 14:41pm2021/09/22 15:24:58 Pandaily

On September 18, some Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> users received an update notification by their intelligent software system but found that the system needed to obtain private data. If they did not agree to the release of private data, then they were unable to use their vehicle.

An Ideal ONE owner said, “I upgraded my car at midnight last night. These agreements were displayed on the screen in the morning and there was no option to disagree with it. Only by choosing to agree can I continue to use the car.”

Several Ideal ONE owners said that they did not agree with private data being collected, such as their personal navigation history or even their music history. But only by agreeing to the license agreement could they continue to use their vehicle.

Other privacy policies in the agreement include that Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> will collect users’ usage information such as Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> app account information, downloaded applications, on-board navigation application data (including destination, search records, navigation real-time data, etc.), entertainment system data (such as broadcast listening records, music playing history), and other data.

In response to this incident, several lawyers have said that users can report the matter to the Consumer Protection Committee and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or sue the EV maker to confirm that these overlord clauses do, in fact, infringe on consumers’ rights and interests.

Amid the heightened pandemic-induced concerns in Malaysia, the production of chips dedicated for Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />’s millimeter-wave radar supplier has been severely disrupted. This has resulted in the company slashing its delivery guidance for the third quarter, according to an announcement on Monday. Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> now expects to deliver about 24,500 vehicles in the third quarter, down from the previous outlook of vehicle deliveries between 25,000 to 26,000 units.

Li Auto<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> said that the company will continue to monitor the ongoing market conditions and work in collaboration with its supply-chain partners to reduce the adverse impact of the chip shortage on its production.