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According to Car News China, a senior executive at Chery Automobile has sparked controversy with his public criticism of a newly launched rival model from Geely.
Reports suggest that Yao Fei, Vice President of Marketing at Chery Automobile, used strong language to disparage the Geely Galaxy Starshine 8 on social media.
In a Douyin social media group chat named “A9 Founder’s Edition Owners,” Yao Fei described the Geely Galaxy Starshine 8 as a “terrible car” with “cramped second-row seating” and “poor audio quality.”
His comments sparked a backlash from social media users and Geely Galaxy Starshine 8 owners.
Interestingly, Chery Automobile’s upcoming Fulwin A9 will be a direct competitor to the Geely Galaxy Starshine 8 in the Chinese market.
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The Geely Galaxy Starshine 8. Image: Geely |
Following the controversial messages, Yao Fei reportedly deleted the “A9 Founder’s Edition Owners” group chat and switched his Douyin account to private.
Publicly available information indicates that Yao Fei previously worked at Great Wall Motors as the Director of Communications and Marketing for the Ora brand before joining Chery Automobile. The story was first shared by the news site Jiemian, but the article was quickly removed.
The Geely Galaxy Starshine 8 was launched on May 9 as the brand’s first near-premium hybrid sedan. It is offered in seven versions in China, with promotional prices ranging from 115,800 to 155,800 CNY, equivalent to $16,000-$21,600 USD.
After the first four months of the year, Geely Galaxy’s sales exceeded 356,000 units. The brand aims to hit the one million annual sales target this year.
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