"The car is still in the factory, and the configuration is outdated." Is the new owner of the Wenjie M7 laser radar upgrade now considered a "big victim"?

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Written by | “BUG” Column Zhou Wenmeng

Recently, Hongmeng Zhixing announced that the 896-line dual-laser radar (referred to as “896-line dual laser radar”) will be made available for the Wenjie M7 model, which has sparked widespread criticism from many car owners.

Statistics from the “BUG” column found that currently two types of car owners are troubled: one type has only received their cars for a few days, saying, “If I had known, I would have waited!” The other type is worse off, as they have not even seen their beloved cars yet, asking, “The car is still at the factory, and it has already become an old model?”

As of the time of publication, Wenjie has not responded to this matter. Staff at the authorized user center for Wenjie stated, “The official has not clearly informed whether an upgrade is possible, and we cannot respond to inquiries.”

Cars still at the factory have become “old models,” owners criticize Wenjie M7 for “betrayal”

On platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Black Cat Complaints [Download Black Cat Complaints App], a large number of Wenjie M7 car owners are currently voicing their grievances over their experiences of “betrayal.”

A car owner who has had their car for less than three months wrote: “Dear officials of Hongmeng Zhixing and relevant personnel at Seres Automotive, as consumers who trust Huawei technology and recognize the Wenjie brand, we initially spent 279,800 to 379,800 to purchase the 2026 model M7, primarily due to the core strength of Huawei’s Qian Kun smart driving system… However, this situation of ‘just receiving the car and already being outdated, with different treatments within the same brand’ has made all of us car owners feel deeply ‘betrayed,’ filled with disappointment and anger.”

According to the owner, early in their purchase of the Wenjie M7, the official claimed that the 192-line laser radar model they bought was “industry-leading and covered all scenarios,” which was the key reason for them choosing Wenjie over other competitors. But within less than three months of receiving the car, the official announcement on March 23, 2026, that the Wenjie M7 would be equipped with the world’s highest specification 896-line dual-laser radar made their car clearly an “old model.”

“We are fully aware that the iteration speed of new energy vehicles is fast, but iterations should not come at the cost of harming the rights of newly purchased old car owners.” In the view of this car owner, their anger and demands are not unreasonable, but based on objective facts such as “different treatment within the same brand” and the “huge generational gap between the 896-line and 192-line radars.”

In communication with the “BUG” column, a Wenjie M7 owner named Li Teng (pseudonym) who just received their car 20 days ago stated: “The 2026 model M7 is clearly being treated differently; flagship models like the Wenjie M9 and S800 can upgrade to the 896-line laser radar for a fee, and the M6 priced around 250,000 is fully equipped with the 896-line laser radar, yet our M7, which costs around 300,000, does not even support paid upgrades, let alone any corresponding compensation.”

Official information indicates that the 896-line dual-laser radar is currently the highest in terms of production line count globally, with its perception capability formally moving from traditional “point cloud level” to “image level,” with a resolution four times that of the 192-line product. Li Teng predicted: “When the M6 costing over 200,000 is equipped with the 896-line dual-laser radar as standard, it is likely that once the inventory of 192-line laser radars is exhausted, they will no longer be produced in large quantities, making our cars clearly outdated right after purchase!”

“Buying a Wenjie car was originally for its smart driving, but now with such a significant upgrade in smart driving, we, the old car owners who just bought, have been left out.” Li Teng expressed dissatisfaction.

Moreover, some owners directly stated that their cars have become “old models” before even arriving. One owner remarked that they placed an order for a 2026 Wenjie M7 on March 7 of this year, saying, “When buying the car, I specifically asked if there would be new models released, and the sales staff clearly told me there would be no hardware upgrades.” Now, although they can exchange their old car for a new one, the condition is that they cannot enjoy the 10,000 yuan purchase tax discount and must pay an additional 10,000 yuan, effectively meaning a second sale.

As of now, Hongmeng Zhixing and Wenjie officials have not publicly responded to this matter. According to staff at the authorized user center for Wenjie in communication with the “BUG” column, “The 896-line dual-laser radar has higher precision than the 192-line laser radar when recognizing fine objects, with better performance. Since Wenjie officials have not clearly informed whether the old cars equipped with 192-line laser radars can support the upgrade to 896-line dual-laser radars, owners who have just purchased the M7 also cannot get a clear answer on the radar upgrade.”

Old Wenjie M7 car owners hurt by betrayal twice in a month

In fact, this 896-line laser radar “betrayal” incident is not the first time Wenjie M7 owners have stood up for their rights. Looking back at the development history of the Wenjie brand, similar incidents have occurred multiple times.

Just a month ago, on February 27, Wenjie announced a purchase tax subsidy policy of 10,000 yuan in response to issues such as delays in the delivery of the 2026 model M7. However, at the same time this policy was announced, many old car owners who purchased in January and February could not sit still and began to initiate rights protection on various complaint platforms, believing that this constituted a disguised price reduction.

Before this, on January 13, 2023, Wenjie announced a price reduction of 30,000 yuan for the M7 Comfort and Luxury versions, which also sparked dissatisfaction among old car owners. However, Wenjie provided old car owners with compensation worth 33,000 to 35,000 yuan, including extending the overall vehicle warranty to 8 years/160,000 kilometers and offering 120,000 AITO points, quickly calming the discontent of old car owners.

“I knew I would be betrayed, but I didn’t expect to be betrayed twice in a month.” An unhappy Wenjie M7 owner said. In their view, Wenjie’s frequent product iterations and disputes over purchase subsidies have severely damaged their trust in the Wenjie brand.

In response to the Wenjie M7 “betrayal” incident, several legal professionals have expressed their professional opinions.

Wang Hua (pseudonym), a lawyer from Guangdong Haihou Law Firm, stated in communication with the “BUG” column that according to Article 55 of the Consumer Protection Law, if the store was clearly asked about upgrade plans beforehand but was not informed, both the sales outlet and the car manufacturer have committed fraudulent sales, and one can claim a refund and triple compensation. It is advisable to first collect evidence such as chat records, recordings, or promotional materials from the company at the time of inquiry, then file a complaint with the brand’s official channel to seek compensation; if unsuccessful, one can report false advertising to 12315 or the Market Supervision Bureau, or file a lawsuit to assert breach of contract.

“I have handled similar cases, and with solid evidence, the success rate is quite high,” Wang Hua advised consumers to quickly secure evidence and protect their rights.

Sun Yuhao, a senior partner at Shanghai Haihua Yongtai Law Firm, also pointed out that if the sales staff clearly informed consumers before purchasing that “the 896-line dual-laser radar would not be equipped on the M7 model,” this behavior constitutes false representation of future product configuration information, which is enough to mislead consumers’ purchasing decisions and may constitute consumer fraud, infringing on consumers’ right to know.

According to Article 8 of the Consumer Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and Article 9 of the Implementation Regulations of the Consumer Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods they purchase and use, and operators may not engage in false or misleading publicity.

Sun Yuhao further pointed out that after releasing new configurations, if operators refuse to provide fair upgrade channels or compensation plans to car owners who purchased shortly before, it results in these owners not obtaining reasonable trading conditions equal to those of subsequent consumers, constituting unfair trading due to information asymmetry, infringing on consumers’ rights to fair trading and autonomous choice.

Concerns behind rapid growth, declining brand credibility?

As the Wenjie M7 “betrayal” incident unfolds, the stock price of Wenjie’s parent company, Seres, has also been frequently declining.

On March 26, Seres’ stock price continued to decline after opening, falling to 94 yuan/share as of the time of publication, a decrease of 2.64%. Since reaching a new high of 174.35 yuan/share in September of last year, Seres’ stock price has continuously declined, now down 46%, nearing a halving, with significant pressure on market value.

According to Seres’ Q3 2025 report, the company achieved operating revenue of 110.534 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 3.67%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached 5.312 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.56%. Among them, the operating revenue for the third quarter was 48.133 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.75%; net profit was 2.371 billion yuan.

Behind the impressive performance, outstanding sales figures support the growth in performance. According to Seres’ production and sales brief, in 2025, the cumulative sales of Seres’ new energy vehicles reached 472,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 10.63%; among them, the Wenjie brand delivered over 420,000 units for the year, becoming the company’s most important source of sales.

However, the recent frequent product iterations and the controversy over purchase subsidies are continuously eroding the trust in the Wenjie brand, causing consumers to begin to feel “cautious” about this brand.

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Editor: Song Yafang