The controversy arose during the pre-sale event for the Xpeng MONA M03, held on October 15. During the presentation, a product manager from the company's young team repeatedly used the term 'laodeng' and called for the rejection of 'laodeng aesthetics'.
Following public backlash, the product manager, Etta, released a video apology. She explained that the term was intended as an internal team joke rather than a malicious insult, but acknowledged that its public usage caused discomfort.
Xpeng has emphasized that its MONA product team is composed primarily of younger generations, with 54% born after 1995 and 39% born after 2000. CEO He Xiaopeng previously noted that nearly half of the product managers are from the post-2000 cohort.
The company's marketing strategy, which featured these young employees leading the product presentation, faced criticism from social media users. Critics argued that the language used was derogatory and that the attempt to appeal to a younger demographic through such rhetoric backfired.
