Why these electric cars that “charge” in 5 minutes will have to change their name in Europe
Chinese giant Nio, which will challenge Audi from 2021, may be forced to reconsider the names of its ES6 and ES8 electric cars in Europe. The two SUVs would have a name very close to the existing models in the brand’s range with rings.
Not everything is rosy in the automotive industry, on the contrary. Indeed, producers have always been at odds with each other over issues of identity. The most convincing example is the war between Polestar and Citroën, the latter claiming that the Scandinavian brand copied its logo. If the three-color company banned the sale of vehicles from its rival in France, an agreement was finally reached at the end of 2022.
Legal fight
Now two other brands, which at first glance have little in common, are fighting in court. This Nio and Audi are up against each other in a real legal battle. To be honest, a conflict that has not existed since yesterday, on the site Car news China It explains that it started in October 2021. So what is the theme of this battle between the two manufacturers?
More than a year ago, the brand with the ring sued the Chinese firm Using the names ES6 and ES8. Indeed, according to Audi, these names would be very close to the S6 and S8 sold in Europe. Thus, Nio would have violated the rules of intellectual property. But the matter remained there.
We are now on January 19, 2023. After many months of waiting, the Munich Regional Court finally deliberated and Audi has been proven right for now. As a result, Nio is prohibited from keeping the ES6 and ES8 names for its two electric SUVs in Europe. Popular electric cars that “charge” in less than five minutes thanks to the battery exchange system. A blow for the brand, which is just starting to develop on the Old Continent, especially in Germany and Norway.
According to the judge, it would indeed exist Risk of confusion between Nio and Audi cars, and the presence of the letter “E” will not be enough then. Indeed, the letter could simply be an abbreviation for “Electric”, which could then be used by the brand with rings. So customers might think so The ES6 and ES8 will be electric versions Already sold sedans in the Audi series: S6 and S8.
new names
So Nio will be forced to change the name of its cars only in Europe. ES6 and ES8 will therefore be called EL6 and EL8. The nomenclature adopted by the ES7, which is already called the EL7 in Europe, while other models such as the ET5 and ET7 should not be affected by this decision.
However, it should be noted that the decision is not yet final. The Chinese brand, which is working on developing battery swapping stations in Europe, has already announced that it wants to apply if it is eventually approved. He indeed denies the charges of fraud and explains that confusion is impossible. Recall that the Audi S6 and S8 are sedans The ES6 and ES8 are large SUVs.
With this legal battle, Audi just wants to Delays Nion’s arrival in Europe ? This possibility cannot be ruled out, as the German company already sells several electric SUVs, including the Q4 e-tron and Q8 e-tron. In addition, there are rumors that the manufacturer may want to monopolize the names ES6 and ES8 to offer later. electric versions of their sedans.
Currently, The Nio does not market any models in France, however It is already available in several European countries, notably in Norway with the ET7, ES8, EL7 and ET5. And more specifically, the EL7 is an SUV that was recently launched in Europe and is called the ES7 in China. Due to the feud with Audi, the Nio didn’t want to add fuel to the fire with a name that sounded like the Audi S7.
Competing with BYD or even Xpeng, the Chinese firm recently unveiled the EC7 SUV, positioned between the Tesla Model Y and Model X.
While testing the Nio ET7 electric car, we were able to test the battery exchange system (Nio Power Swap Station), which allows you to “charge” the batteries in five minutes. The result is…
Read more
Help us build the future of Frandroid by answering this survey!
