AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/18 Report--

Recently, a story about the entry of Mercedes-Benz G into the Forbidden City has been widely circulated on social platforms and aroused strong public concern. In response to this matter, the Imperial Palace has verified the truth of the incident and sincerely apologized to the public. I believe that for everyone, the Imperial Palace, as a world cultural heritage, it is natural to ban vehicles from entering.

A netizen posted a photo suspected of "showing off" on Weibo on Jan. 17, with the two protagonists taking a photo with a black Mercedes-Benz G SUV parked in the middle of the Palace Museum's Taihe Men Square. At this time, it was the closing day of the square, and some media reported that the staff had explained that the location was located on the southwest side of Taihe Men Square, where parking was not allowed.

After this picture was sent out, it was hotly discussed by many netizens, and a number of central media also collectively criticized the matter. To this end, the Palace Museum sincerely apologized to the public, saying that it would be strictly regulated in the future to put an end to this kind of phenomenon.

Some netizens also said that such a hot search feels like a free wave of advertising for Mercedes-Benz. Some netizens "embellished" the advertisement picture of Mercedes-Benz Big G. The picture shows the Mercedes-Benz G model, with a slogan: the new Mercedes AMG G63. Netizens added "every corner can be vertical and horizontal, including the Forbidden City" at the bottom.

Although it was just a parody of netizens, the incident once topped the list of hot searches on Weibo and undoubtedly advertised Mercedes-Benz for free.

In the past year, Mercedes-Benz has received a lot of negative news, sparking public opinion due to repeated complaints about quality and service. The most serious one was in April this year, when a video of a woman crying on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz car went viral online, which led to the escalation of public opinion. It was investigated by the regulatory authorities and fined a total of 1 million yuan in accordance with the law, and even was rated as "No. 1 in safeguarding rights" by the China Consumer Association.

Despite the "negative" news, Mercedes-Benz bucked the trend in 2019, delivering a total of 702088 new cars, up 4 per cent from a year earlier. It is obvious that the Mercedes-Benz brand has an extraordinary position in China, and now the hot search has given Mercedes-Benz a wave of "heat" in vain.

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