Automotive influencer was accused by the Asian automaker of fabricating false information in videos about the durability of batteries and motors
BYD won a court victory that resulted in the conviction of an automotive blogger to pay compensation set at 2 million yuan (the equivalent of approximately R$ 1.65 million at the current exchange rate). The decision, handed down by a court in China, accepted the automaker’s complaint that the content creator would have fabricated and disseminated false information in his videos, causing direct damage to the brand’s commercial reputation.
In addition to the heavy financial sanction, the Court determined that the influencer publish a public retraction on video. In the mandatory recording, he must classify as “inadequate” and unfounded the severe criticisms he previously made about the durability and safety of the motors, batteries and electrical systems that equip the company’s models.
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The defendant, who runs a channel known locally by the pseudonym “Long Ge Talks EVs,” has a history of legal battles with the automotive industry. Previously, the same content producer had already been ordered to pay 160 thousand yuan (about R$ 132 thousand) in a similar defamation lawsuit, filed jointly by Asian brands Seres and Aito.
Despite the incisive action in the courts, BYD’s general manager of public relations, Li Yunfei, commented on the case stating that the automaker remains open to receiving criticism, as long as the analyzes are strictly objective and based on real technical data.
The legal retaliation observed in the BYD case reflects an increasingly bellicose stance adopted by the Chinese auto industry. In recent years, it has become customary for manufacturers to take civil action against anyone who publishes what their legal departments classify as disinformation campaigns.
Last year, competing manufacturer Avatr filed a lawsuit demanding 10 million yuan (R$ 8.2 million) from another blogger. The professional had disputed the official aerodynamic drag coefficient numbers released for the Avatr 12 electric model. At the time, the automaker justified the millionaire figure by arguing that the influencer would be part of a hired network of “negative public relations” to favor rivals. The environment of high litigation establishes a scenario of pressure on independent evaluators, who start to demand extreme technical rigor when testing vehicles in the Asian market.
