BYD is ordered to pay BRL 1.2 million for misleading advertising of the Dolphin Mini

BYD do Brasil was ordered by the Maranhão Court to pay BRL 1.2 million for collective moral damages caused by misleading advertising and failure in the duty of information and omission in the pre-sale of the BYD Dolphin Mini, held in February 2024.

The campaign started on February 25, 2024, when the brand started accepting reservations with a down payment of R$ 10 thousand without having disclosed the price of the car. On social networks, information circulated that the electric would cost R$ 99,800, or R$ 89,800 for the first buyers.

According to the records, more than 6,100 people made the reservation, which moved about R$ 61 million. At the official launch, three days later, the announced price was R$ 115,800, almost 29% above the lowest speculated value.

Dealership manager weighed in the decision

At the hearing, the BYD representative confirmed that the company hired only the presenter Luciano Huck to announce the reservation period, without disclosing the price. Douglas Vernete, manager of a dealership of the brand, however, admitted to having retransmitted videos with the speculated values, below R$ 100 thousand.

Digital influencer Gustavo Teixeira declared that the automaker knew about the circulation of the numbers, but did not seek him out to correct them.

For the judge, the manager “did not act as a mere third speculator”, but as an agent of the manufacturer, which makes BYD liable. In the sentence, the magistrate states that the buyers were “induced by an eloquent silence of the automaker about the price of a highly desired product”.

He also assessed that the bonus of R$ 10 thousand and the wallbox charger offered at the launch reinforce the abusive practice: “The supplier, by requiring the consumer to accept a much higher final price at the risk of losing priority in the purchase and facing difficulties in refunding the deposit, incurred in conduct that violates good faith and equity”, he said.

BYD will appeal

In the process, BYD maintained that the values were “market speculations” by third parties, that the bonus and the charger were promotional offers and that the 1,182 customers who gave up were fully refunded. The company also contested the jurisdiction of the Maranhão courts, claiming that only 204 reservations came from the state. The thesis was rejected.

The judge, however, denied the request to force the automaker to sell the car for R$ 89,800 or R$ 99,800, since these prices were never part of the official offer. The compensation was below the R$ 12 million requested by Procon and the up to R$ 2 million suggested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, because the quick return of the signs mitigated the damage. The amount will go to the State Fund for the Protection of Diffuse Rights.

The decision guarantees those who reserved the car between February 25 and 28, 2024 the right to buy it for R$ 115.800, with bonuses and wallbox. After the final and unappealable decision, BYD will have 30 days to create a service channel with a refund of the down payment within five business days.

In a note published by the newspaper O Imparcial, BYD said it respects the Judiciary, but argued that the understanding of the lack of information and the collective damage deserves review. The company says that the conditions determined are the same as those practiced by its network in the campaign.

The sentence of Judge Douglas de Melo Martins, of the Court of Diffuse and Collective Interests of São Luís, is still subject to appeal. The automaker says it will appeal.