Symbolic Alienation and Semantic Failure: A Reflection on the Homogenization of Chinese New Energy Vehicle Design

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the "New Four Modernizations" wave, China's new energy vehicle industry, while witnessing explosive growth in production capacity, has fallen into a severe dilemma of design homogenization. Based on Baudrillard's theory of "symbolic consumption" and Krippendorff's product semantics, this paper points out that current automobile design is undergoing alienation from "functional tools" to "intelligent simulacra". The visual paradigms represented by narrow-eyed headlamps and oversized central control screens are essentially rampant symbol stacking, which results in the impoverishment and failure of product semantics. This paper dissects the logic of symbol appropriation behind Xiaomi Auto, and criticizes how supply chain dividends and algorithmic convergence have led to the annihilation of brand uniqueness and the alienation of users' real needs. The study concludes that automakers must transcend the competition of visual symbols, reshape perceived quality from the perspective of embodied cognition, build a differentiated sensory moat and cultural narratives, and achieve a strategic leap from "cost performance" to "brand value".