Onvo Sales Controversy Escalates as Former Employee Protests in China

Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X

[Update: Onvo has reached a settlement with the former employee after he has publicly apologized on social media. More info here.]

In mid January, Nio’s sub-brand Onvo was accused on Chinese social media of forcing employees to buy the debut model L60 through the internal purchase program.

At the time, Onvo’s Vice President Xia Qinghua stated that he had reprimanded the store manager involved in the case for requiring each salesperson to purchase an Onvo L60 SUV.

“After looking into the matter, I personally called and sternly reprimanded the store manager,” the executive said last month. “Of course, we hope employees can drive our brand’s vehicles to better understand the product and provide more authentic and persuasive feedback when communicating with users, especially for new team members currently driving competitor models.”

Onvo’s VP added in January that the company does provide discounts of over 20,000 yuan ($2,760) for frontline employees and store managers to purchase its vehicles.

In the banner, Onvo’s formal employee wrote: “Resigned after buying a car, but Nio still wants to take my commission,” adding later in the sign, “I was a sales employee at Nio, but I am not a liar who deceives customers.”

The post further alleged that employees were told they could return the car at 75% of its price if they resigned before taking delivery, but that the company later refused to honor this arrangement.

Onvo issued a statement claiming the employee “violated company policy by attempting to resell the vehicle through a third-party used car dealer” adding he voluntarily resigned last Friday, February 14.

In a leaked text message with the company’s human resources department, the employee claims his colleague Hao Ge “requested” in January “that all employees participate in the internal purchase program and place a deposit for a car.”

“Although I have been forcibly dismissed, I want to make things clear. In January, during a company meeting, Hao Ge requested that all employees participate in the internal purchase program and place a deposit for a car,” the former sales person from Wuhan told the company’s HR in a text message.”

“Hao Ge also explained this to everyone. If an employee resigns before taking delivery, the company can still repurchase the vehicle at a 75% price,” he added.

The employee, who also shared screenshots of the company’s internal platform showing the resignation handover process, stated that he was “dismissed” with Onvo “refusing to take back my car.”

“Now, following the directive of President An Chengzong, I have been dismissed, and the company has gone back on its promise and refused to take back my car,” he stated. “Meanwhile, I have not sold the car to anyone else. I only listed it on a platform to check its market price.”

Mentioning “a difficult sales environment,” the former employee added that he “didn’t want to be like other employees who had to pay out of their own pockets to upgrade their orders,” claiming he listed the car for sale “to check its market value, hoping to gain exposure.”

“‘Listing an internal purchase vehicle on a second-hand platform for price inquiry’ is not a violation of company regulations. The company dismissed me without compensation, even though I worked continuously from February 1 to February 14 without taking a break during the Chinese New Year period,” he said. “I worked hard, yet my salary was also withheld.”

“I do not believe this is a fair or reasonable decision. After serving the company for so long, I hope the truth can be clarified, and I can have closure for myself,” the employee wrote in a message to Onvo’s HR team.

As done in January, the company reiterated it “has never forced employees to buy cars” explaining that “the individual in question was a sales employee in the Wuhan regional office who purchased an Onvo L60 under the company’s internal discount program.”

Nio’s sub-brand stated that the former employee “later violated company policy by attempting to resell the vehicle through a third-party used car dealer, breaching the company’s resale restrictions and significantly harming business operations and brand reputation.”

“After discussions, the employee voluntarily resigned on February 14. The company decided not to reclaim the 26,000 yuan employee discount already granted,” Onvo explained in the statement. “In return, the employee forfeited their February salary as compensation for the loss incurred by the company.”

The brand stated that the employee “also requested continued social security contributions due to ongoing applications for housing and talent subsidies “adding that, “in consideration of employee welfare, we approved a special request to cover their February social security and housing fund contributions, completing the process on the same day.”

On February 16, the former employee posted false claims online, alleging that Onvo had forced employees to buy cars before dismissing them. Our regional store manager attempted to contact the individual immediately, but their calls went unanswered and messages remain unreturned.”

In the statement, Nio said that “since its launch, Onvo has received widespread positive feedback from both the market and users.”

Despite the week-over-week increase, weekly insurance registrations still lag behind their performance before the Chinese New Year holidays, which affected both production and deliveries across the industry.

The premium Nio brand recorded 1,900 insurance registrations in the same period, bringing the group’s total to 2,800 vehicles — up from 1,500 between February 3 and 9.

Among new energy vehicle (NEV) startups, Nio and Onvo together ranked 10th in weekly insurance registrations, slightly behind BYD’s premium brand Denza.

Onvo delivered 5,912 vehicles in January, well below its production capacity target of 16,000 units for the month. The company met its December target of 10,000 units and now aims to reach 20,000 in March.

Registration volumes had remained low across automakers in late January and early February due to the Chinese New Year holiday, which ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.

Onvo’s competition in the family-oriented segment included Tesla which registered 1,340 units of the outgoing Model Y. Tesla has since halted sales of the older version and began rolling out first customer deliveries of the refreshed Model Y on Tuesday, with global deliveries set for March.

Customers who place a deposit by February 28 will be eligible for a 0% down payment and a three-year interest-free financing plan valued at 14,840 yuan ($2,040), the company said last Friday.