Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric vehicle maker Nio announced Saturday on Weibo that it is pursuing legal action against “multiple online accounts” for spreading false information across Chinese social media platforms.
Rumors claimed that Nio and Shenzhen-based BYD had formed a joint venture, with BYD acquiring Nio Auto for 16.5 billion yuan ($2.28 billion). The claims alleged that the partnership would be named BYD-Nio Auto Group, with BYD owning a 51% stake and Nio 49%.
“In recent days, on various social media platforms such as a stock trading platform, Weibo, Douyin [China’s TikTok], WeChat public accounts, and WeChat Moments, multiple online accounts have been involved in fabricating, fermenting, spreading, and amplifying false information. These activities have culminated in capital market-related rumors that have caused significant negative impacts on our company,” Nio’s legal department said in a statement posted on its official Weibo account.
The Shanghai-headquartered EV maker stated that it had tracked the propagation of the rumors, identified the initial accounts responsible, and submitted evidence to the police.
“Nio has tracked the entire propagation chain of the rumors and identified the initial spreading accounts across multiple platforms. Relevant evidence has been submitted to the police, and the public security authorities have formally opened an investigation.” the statement said.
The company led by William Li stressed that it will “resolutely safeguard” its “legitimate rights and interests” against similar rumors.
“For any form of online rumor, we will resolutely safeguard Nio’s legitimate rights and interests through legal means and hold the responsible parties accountable under the law,” the legal department added.
Nio’s Associate Vice President for Brand and Communications, Ma Lin, denied the rumors on Friday while also BYD’s PR spokesperson denied on Weibo the claims “seriously false information” and urged the public not to spread such misinformation.
The company reported its third-quarter financial results earlier this week with management forecasting a sales record for the final quarter of 2024 and projecting sales to double next year, exceeding 442,000 units.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
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