And here we get to the heart of the matter, as some of the car models offered have n named in a way that Audi didn’t appreciate. We’re talking about the Nio models, namely the ES6 and ES8. As we know, the German brand offers, among other things, models with the “S” designation, including primarily the “S6” and “S8,” which, when you think about it, sound phonetically identical to the models of the Chinese manufacturer. And it is this significant similarity in the naming of the car models that formed the basis for Audi to sue Nio, and the case ended up in a German court.
The Munich court had n reviewing the case for over a year, and recently issued a ruling favorable to Audi. The justification stated that, although the disputed trademarks differ in the presence of the letter “E,” they are almost identical in terms of phonetics. Therefore, this difference is too small in the overall perception of the disputed trademarks, in terms of their distinction and origin. Furthermore, according to the court, the use of a designation with the letter “E” often indicates that a given car has an electric drive, and therefore there is a risk that customers of the German manufacturer may believe that the “ES6” and “ES8” cars come from Audi, and differ from the classic models only in their electric drive. The ruling is not final, and Nio has already announced that it will appeal the decision. Currently, the Chinese company is obligated to pay a fine of 250,000 euros, and its director in Germany faces a prison sentence of up to six months. In addition, the court ruled that Nio is prohibited from using the disputed designations. Interestingly, Nio has already changed one of its designations, from “ES7” to “EL7,” in order to avoid a similar outcome and another dispute with Audi. This only shows that the German brand’s claims were and are justified.
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