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