Nio denies wild rumor claiming it would be acquired by BYD

Ma Lin, Nio's assistant vice president for branding and communications, today denied a wild rumor claiming BYD would acquire his company. This went viral on Weibo since the source of the claim appeared to be a BYD employee.

Ma told BYD's head of branding and PR Li Yunfei that if the person who originated the rumor is a BYD employee then that person needs to issue a clarification and apologize for spreading false information, otherwise the police should be involved.

Li has also confirmed that the rumor is completely untrue, so this speculation can now finally be put to bed. The rumor claimed BYD and Nio would set up a joint venture where BYD would have 51% and Nio 49%, and this newly established joint venture would acquire Nio for CNY 16.5 billion (approximately $2.2 billion). Nio was to remain independent after this move, but that's all irrelevant now.

The story highlights how hard it is for huge companies like BYD to keep their employees in check - BYD now has 900,608 employees. While Nio has reported revenue below guidance for the third quarter, its net loss was flat from the previous quarter and the gross margin did improve. Nio aims to double sales next year and become profitable by 2026, so there's no need for a 'big brother' like BYD to take over.

Via