No free ice cream for locals! BMW accused of discriminating against Chinese visitors at Shanghai auto show

Chinese internetusers slammed German automaker BMW on Thursday (April 20) for alleged discrimination at the Shanghai auto show after reports emerged that employees at its Mini booth favoured foreign over local Chinese visitors during an ice cream giveaway promotion.Mini expressed regret over the incident, explaining in a statement on its official Weibo account that it was brought on by subpar internal management and that training would be improved.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, local media reported. The term "BMW Mini" rose to the second-most-searched topic on China's Weibo social media site, with users posting images, videos and critical comments that crossed 93 million views.

The debate occured even as BMW and other German automakers compete to keep on top of consumer trends in a nation where domestic competitors have been aggressively gaining market share at the Shanghai auto show.

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What was the ice cream controversy?

In one video, two Chinese employees can be seen telling some locals who came to the Mini stand that the complimentary ice cream had run out, before quickly handing a tub to a foreign attendee.

"This has taken away my good feelings towards BMW," said one Weibo user.

Reuters reported citing a source with insight into the situation that the event occurred after 300 servings of ice cream intended for guests had been distributed by the booth. The foreigner in the video was a BMW employee.

According to the insider, who requested anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the situation, the personnel were not BMW employees but rather temporary workers hired locally for the show.

Oliver Zipse, the Chief Executive Officer of BMW, highlighted in presentations earlier this week the significance of the Chinese market to the automobile manufacturer by claiming that many of its automobiles' characteristics were inspired by China and that the nation was in front of the curve globally in terms of auto trends.

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Chinese consumers have been paying closer attention to how major brands behave in recent years and have become more critical of international or domestic enterprises for perceived slights or for failing to respect Chinese territorial claims.

At times, such criticism has erupted into widespread consumer boycotts. Sales in China for Dolce & Gabbana decreased in 2019 as a result of outrage to an ad campaign that was criticised as racist by celebrities and on social media. The upscale Italian company apologised and claimed there was a "cultural misunderstanding".

(With inputs from agencies)

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