2023-04-20 17:24:15
A compilation of videos posted on Chinese social network Weibo shows employees telling Chinese visitors they had run out of ice cream. The Mini brand issued an apology for the incident, saying the “negligence” of management and staff “caused everyone inconvenience”, and promising to improve employee training.
The message “BMW Mini says sorry” had garnered more than 3.4 million views on Weibo by Thursday followingnoon.
China is the world’s largest automotive market and the Shanghai Motor Show is the first major event to attract executives from foreign industrial giants to the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Faced with competition from Chinese brands ready to conquer the market with their new electric cars, the German automaker is trying to show that it is aware of the importance of Chinese consumers. “Munich is where we come from, but China is where we are at home,” BMW executive Frank Weber told a news conference on Tuesday.
But the ice cream incident sparked a wave of online animosity towards BMW and skirmishes among netizens. A woman released a recording of an argument between her and security guards, claimed to have taken place at the Mini stand, with comments claiming “BMW is hitting people!”. “BMW executives did not expect ice cream to cause so much disruption,” wrote one user.
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