Speaking at the 2025 China Auto Chongqing Forum, BYD’s General Manager of Brand and Public Relations, Li Yunfei, said PR attacks and defamation the company faced “are several times worse than what Nio has experienced.”
Earlier in the week, Nio founder and CEO William Li said the EV maker was spending between 30 million and 50 million yuan ($4.2 million to $7 million) per month to counter organized online disinformation.
“Each month, there’s definitely 30 to 50 million yuan being spent by someone to attack us online,” Li said. “But we truly don’t know who’s behind it. The operations are very well insulated and difficult to trace.”
On Friday, Li Yunfei said BYD had suffered even more severe attacks during his speech at the China Auto Chongqing Forum.
“According to media reports, Nio’s William Li said they’ve been severely troubled in this area. We are in the same situation—only the attacks and defamation we’ve faced are several times worse than what Nio has experienced,” Li Yunfei stated.
BYD said earlier this week it is suing 37 influencer accounts and has placed an additional 126 under internal surveillance, claiming it has been the target of defamation.
At Friday’s event, the PR chief added that BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu had directed internal teams not to disparage competitors when releasing new technologies or in marketing material for new products.
As an example, he pointed to BYD’s launch of its “Megawatt fast charging” technology in March, during which the company refrained from naming rivals, despite common industry practice.
Nio has recently escalated efforts to defend its brand image.
In February, it announced rewards of up to 1 million yuan ($1379,300) for information related to “malicious PR and online trolls.”
The company alleges that organized campaigns have sought to damage its reputation in recent months.
In January, Nio said it would “maintain zero tolerance for black PR and internet trolls” and vowed to protect its interests through legal means.
It also launched a dedicated “Nio Legal Department” account on the Weibo platform in May 2023 to counter misinformation and enforce online accountability.
