A car owner reported that while driving a domestically produced new-energy vehicle on an international road trip, the vehicle’s infotainment system was remotely locked by the manufacturer for over 30 hours. The owner had originally planned to take his child on a summer vacation driving from Central Asia through multiple European countries. On July 16, after crossing the Khorgos border checkpoint in Xinjiang into Kazakhstan, the vehicle’s smart functions were disabled the following day, preventing him from accessing the glove compartment, retrieving documents, refueling, and performing other essential operations. The owner stated he had purchased the car only six months prior and had visited an authorized service center for maintenance before departure, explicitly informing staff of his overseas travel plans—but was never warned about the need to register his trip or the risk of remote vehicle locking. According to his account, unlocking the system required submitting numerous documents, including customs clearance paperwork, passport, purchase contract, invoice, international driver’s license, and visas. Customer service representatives from the automaker responded that vehicles sold in China are intended solely for domestic use; once driven abroad, they are highly likely to trigger a remote lock mechanism. They added that there is no way to preemptively register to avoid this, and temporary unlocking can only be requested after an error code appears on the vehicle’s display. The automaker clarified that the lock affects only smart features—basic driving functionality remains unaffected. Temporary unlocking is limited to a single geographic region; if the vehicle continues traveling across multiple countries, it may be locked again. However, subsequent unlocks would only require uploading the new error code without resubmitting all documentation. The incident has sparked public debate over control rights in smart vehicles and trended on Chinese social media platforms. Some commentators noted that because new-energy vehicles in China are priced significantly lower than in overseas markets, certain used-car dealers engage in “parallel exports,” selling brand-new Chinese-market vehicles abroad. This practice disrupts automakers’ overseas pricing strategies, prompting manufacturers to implement remote-lock measures to prevent unauthorized resale or theft.