Hyperdrive

Chinese Automakers Look to Livestreaming to Shake Stuffy Image

  • Heated competition pushing CEOs into live broadcasting arena
  • Real-time feedback could help refine products even faster

A Xiaomi Corp. SU7 electric vehicle during the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing, China, on April 25.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Competition in China’s cutthroat car market is pushing even legacy automakers’ senior executives to take up livestreaming to stoke sales.

Jeans-and-jacket-wearing bosses of electric-vehicle startups have increasingly been joined in recent months by seasoned staff of established carmakers, including some middle-aged shirt-and-tie types from conservative state-owned auto giants.