Changan’s NEV brand Deepal has become the centre of controversy after it pushed unsolicited advertisements to approximately 480,000 existing customers through their vehicle’s infotainment systems without prior consent.

On May 27, owners were surprised to discover a 5-second promotional advertisement automatically displaying on their centre console screens upon vehicle startup. The ad promoted a 10,000 yuan (1,400 USD) discount coupon for the company’s S09 model.

“I was completely shocked when I started my car this morning. This is shameless!” one disgruntled owner expressed on social media.

The incident sparked immediate backlash online, with customers criticising the company for disregarding existing users’ experience.

In response to the growing criticism, Deepal Automotive formally apologised to the public and affected vehicle owners. The company explained that their original intention was to inform existing customers about exclusive benefits, noting that many customers had visited dealerships unaware of available discounts.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,” the company stated in its announcement. We acknowledge that this approach disrupted our customers’ driving experience. Moving forward, we will no longer use the vehicle’s infotainment system to push similar promotional notifications.”

CEO Deng Chenghao also issued a personal apology following the company’s official statement. “Over the weekend, I met with several existing customers, and about half were unaware of the 10,000 yuan (1,400 USD) exclusive purchasing benefit,” Deng explained. “I instructed our team to make more customers aware of this benefit. This was my mistake, and I apologise and hope for your understanding.”

Deepal has committed to improving its communication channels and service quality while promising to enhance its technical and service capabilities to better meet customers’ growing mobility needs without intruding on their in-vehicle experience.

Deepal Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. is an electric vehicle manufacturing company owned by Changan Automobile. Founded in 2018, it was originally named Chongqing Changan New Energy Automobile Technology and has been an independent brand since 2023.

Editor’s comment

This is clearly a “Black Mirror” moment. While the intelligent development of cars brings convenience to OTA updates and smart driving, it also makes companies realise they can leverage new technologies to push advertisements to users. The excuse given by Deepal’s CEO in his apology is entirely untenable. If they wanted to notify customers, they could have done so via SMS (though that would still be somewhat annoying). Hopefully, one day, we won’t see different versions of cars categorised as “low-priced ad-supported” and “high-priced ad-free.”