Monthly Archive: May 2023

NIO gears up for tough stance on false rumors, sets up legal desk social media accounts

NIO has officially opened accounts dedicated to its legal department on Weibo and the short video platform Douyin, following similar actions by and .

(Screenshot of NIO legal department's account page on Douyin.)

NIO is ready to step up its fight against false rumors, as such information circulates widely ahead of the official launch of the highly anticipated new SUV ES6.

The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker today officially opened accounts dedicated to its legal department on Weibo as well as on the short video platform Douyin, CnEVPost has learned.

As of press time, NIO's legal department account has 128 followers on Weibo and 1,756 followers on Douyin, although no content has been posted yet.

(Screenshot of NIO legal department's account page on Weibo.)

NIO's move comes at a time when false information about it has recently increased significantly ahead of the new ES6 SUV's launch. The company unveiled the new ES6 on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, and its official launch will be later this month.

NIO is currently switching its models from the older NT 1.0 platform to the newer NT 2.0 platform, and the resulting customer wait-and-see may be one of the key reasons for the low sales over the past few months.

NIO delivered 6,658 vehicles in April, up 31.22 percent from 5,074 in the same month last year, but down 35.85 percent from 10,378 in March, the second consecutive monthly decline.

The weak performance has been compared by some on Chinese social media to the company's most difficult times more than three years ago, and there are even rumors that German auto giant Volkswagen may buy NIO.

NIO has previously had a high tolerance for false rumors and usually doesn't take a hard line.

The company's latest move is similar to what Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) have done in the social media space.

Tesla's legal department in China opened an account on Weibo in June 2021 and has been playing a big role in combating false information involving the company.

Li Auto opened a Weibo account for its legal department in September 2022 and has made several clarifications about false information.

On May 5, a Weibo blogger claimed he had worked with Li Auto in April for a deal worth RMB 300,000 ($43,370). Li Auto's founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang subsequently denied it on Weibo and asked the car company's legal department to intervene.

The creation of the legal department's social media accounts is the latest move by NIO in its fight against what it sees as violations of its reputation.

Late last month, the EV maker sued a vlogger with 6.5 million followers on Douyin, accusing him of spreading false information and violating its reputation.

NIO demanded that the blogger publicly apologize on Douyin and pay RMB 2 million in damages.

($1 = RMB 6.9180)

NIO sues vlogger for $290,000 for spreading false information

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Zeekr begins allowing lock-in of Zeekr X orders

The Zeekr X was launched on April 12, with deliveries expected to begin in June.

Zeekr begins allowing lock-in of Zeekr X orders-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Geely Holding Group's premium electric vehicle brand Zeekr has begun allowing consumers to lock in orders for the Zeekr X, following the official launch of the compact SUV a month ago.

Zeekr today began allowing orders for the Zeekr X to be locked, and consumers will not be able to change their order information after doing so, according to a post on the company's mobile app today.

For consumers who have previously reserved the model, their orders will be automatically locked if they do not have any action by 24:00 on May 31, according to the article.

Test drives of the Zeekr X will be available in Zeekr stores starting May 9, Zeekr said, adding that deliveries of the model are expected to begin in June.

Zeekr officially launched the Zeekr X, its third model, at a launch event in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on April 12. It comes in three versions, one starting at RMB 189,800 ($27,450) and the other two at RMB 209,800.

With a length, width and height of 4,450mm, 1,836mm and 1,572mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,750mm, the Zeekr X is a typical compact SUV.

Zeekr hopes to use the SUV to disrupt the compact luxury car market, which is dominated by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, and its CEO Andy An said at the launch event that the market currently has only luxury brands and no real luxury products.

With a combined maximum power of 315 kW and maximum torque of 543 Nm, the dual-motor version of the Zeekr X can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds.

Even the single-motor version of the Zeekr X can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds.

Zeekr is aiming to double its sales to about 140,000 units this year. It delivered 8,101 units in April and 23,335 units in the January-April period, up 124.85 percent from 10,378 units in the same period last year.

Zeekr X's delivery target for this year is 40,000 units, An said in response to a CnEVPost question during a media interview on the night of the model's launch.

On April 18, Zeekr unveiled its European strategy, and the Zeekr 001 shooting brake and Zeekr X will be its first models available in Europe.

($1 = RMB 6.9148)

Zeekr launches Zeekr X SUV to gain further share from market dominated by German luxury automakers

The post Zeekr begins allowing lock-in of Zeekr X orders appeared first on CnEVPost.

For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.

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