Chinese online users criticised the German car manufacturer BMW (BMWG.DE) on Thursday, accusing it of discrimination at the Shanghai auto show over accusations that employees at its Mini stand preferred foreign visitors over local ones during an ice cream giveaway promotion.
Mini expressed regret for the situation, blaming inadequate internal management and promising to enhance training in a statement posted on its official Weibo account.
With over 93 million views and users reposting images and videos of an incident that local media reported happened on Wednesday, the topic “BMW Mini” rose to the second position in searches on China’s Weibo social media platform.
The debate occurs as BMW and other German automakers compete to keep on top of consumer trends in a nation where domestic competitors have been aggressively stealing market share at the Shanghai auto show.
One video showed two Chinese workers telling some local visitors to the Mini stand that the free ice cream had run out, only to offer a tub moments later to a Western attendee.
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“This has taken away my good feelings towards BMW,” said one Weibo commentator.
A person familiar with the matter said the booth had finished giving out 300 servings of ice cream meant for visitors when the incident occurred and the foreigner in the video was a BMW employee.
The workers were temporary workers hired locally for the show, not BMW staff, the person said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
In presentations earlier this week BMW’s Chief Executive Oliver Zipse talked up the importance of the Chinese market to the automaker, saying many of its cars’ features were inspired by China and how the country was ahead of the global curve in auto trends.
Chinese consumers have in recent years more closely monitored the behaviour of big brands, becoming increasingly critical of foreign companies or local businesses over perceived slights or for not respecting China’s territorial claims.
Such criticism has at times snowballed into consumer boycotts. In 2019, Dolce & Gabbana saw China sales slow after it faced a backlash for an advertising campaign that was decried as racist by celebrities and on social media. The Italian luxury brand asked for forgiveness and said there was a “cultural misunderstanding”.