Audi: Absurd name dispute in court

German car giant Audi and Chinese vehicle manufacturer Nio have been in court for almost two years. The legal dispute was triggered by two model names: Audi is annoyed by the names ES6 and ES8 from Nio. The Ingolstadt-based company thinks they are too similar to their own names S6 and S8. Now the exchange of blows goes into the next round.

Audi had made an important point in January. At that time, the district court in Munich had decided: the model names were too similar, there was an indirect risk of confusion. But Nio persisted. The appeal of the Chinese was allowed. In January 2024, the two manufacturers will meet again before the Munich Higher Regional Court.

There is also back and forth at EU level

But the legal dispute is not only being fought in German courts. Both parties are also fighting for trademark rights at EU level. Nio had registered the designations ES6 and ES8 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. In October 2021, Audi submitted a request for deletion, which the office rejected. One should trust car buyers to be able to distinguish an Audi from a Nio, the reasoning was analogous.

Audi did not want to accept this decision and lodged a complaint. As a result, the EU decision was partially overturned. And that, in turn, Nio may not want to just accept.

Remarkable: The ES6 model is now called the EL6, and the ES7 (also an Audi annoyance) has since been renamed to the EL7 by Nio. Nevertheless, both manufacturers apparently do not want to give in. They would have better things to do than take turns citing each other in court: Audi lacks strategy and customers, so brand boss Duesmann has to go. And Nio is about to arrive in Europe. In Germany, the Chinese have not even sold 500 cars.