Ahead of the official launch for the European market, NIO changed the name of the SUV ES7 to EL7. NIO itself said the originality of the model naming from the very beginning of the company’s creation, local media Sina Tech said today, citing the company’s response.
NIO has been making global registration applications for trademarks since 2016, and has obtained successful registrations in China and most other markets including Europe and the United States.
However, Audi is suing the model names of the NIO ES8 and ES6 in Germany, claiming that they imitate the model names of the vehicles they produce.
Given the potential for impending trouble and avoiding affecting customer interests in Europe, NIO decided to use the model name EL7 in Europe.
NIO will continue to respond to trademark-related issues currently ongoing in Germany, he said.
NIO will hold an official launch event for the European market through NIO Berlin 2022 on Friday. NIO is bringing three electric vehicle models together ET7, EL7 and ET5 to consumers in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.
All three are based on the company’s latest NT 2.0 platform. Previously NIO showed the name ES7 in the model information that will be launched for five European countries.
However, German, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish and Danish NIO websites were found to have featured the ES7 under the name EL7.
NIO in June, Audi filed a lawsuit against NIO for the trademark NIO ES8 and ES6. Audi itself has sold two sporty sedan models, the S6 and S8, for several years.
According to Audi’s argument, the NIO ES8 and ES6 are very similar to the Audi models that were launched some time ago.
