ES8 or S8?
Audi has won a lawsuit against Nio over the model names ES6 and ES8. In Germany, the court ruled in favor of Audi that the names are too similar to S6 and S8 and that this could lead to confusion.
Although Nio is still a new player in Europe, it is already in a legal battle with a major manufacturer. Audi took Nio to court because it believes that the model names ES6 and ES8 rub too closely against S6 and S8. That was already known last summer, now there is a ruling. According to Automobilweek the Munich court ruled in favor of Audi. “There is a risk that consumers will assume that the ‘ES6’ is an electric version of the ‘S6’ and that the two vehicles are from the same manufacturer,” the judge ruled. It doesn’t matter that the Nio’s ES6 and ES8 are electric SUVs and the Audi’s S6 and S8 sports sedans.
The consequences for Nio are relatively limited for the time being. The ruling only applies to Germany and Nio is no longer allowed to advertise the two SUVs there. This does not yet apply to the rest of Europe. For now, the ES6 and ES8 can keep their names. If Nio continues to advertise the ES6 and ES8 in Germany, a fine of €250,000 or even six months in prison for the director of Nio Germany could follow. Nio is appealing against the ruling, so this will get another tail.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl