Chinese car company accused of cheating in comparison test with Maybach

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - A Chinese car brand has been accused of cheating by comparing its chassis with that of a Maybach S-Class.

Nio has drawn attention to its Skyride intelligent chassis system, due to videos released showing the bike maintaining remarkable stability on rough terrain.

Among them, the most famous are the video testing the stacking of champagne glasses on the hood and driving over bumpy roads without them tipping over, and the video comparing the company's ET9 model to a Maybach S-Class using a Jenga game.

Allegations of fraud focus on the second video. In it, an eight-tiered wooden tower was placed on a table in the back seat to test the vehicle's sway when traveling over the same bumpy road at the same speed. The video shows that the wooden blocks in the Maybach S-Class tipped over, while those in the Nio ET9 did not.

Video recorded by an outside camera shows the Maybach's body shaking violently as it drives over bumpy roads, while the ET9 remains relatively stable.

The test that Nio is accused of cheating on (Video: Nio).

Allegations of fraud focus on the spacing of speed bumps. Accordingly, many argue that the speed bumps were deliberately positioned to benefit the wheelbase of the Nio ET9, so that the car could maintain stability.

Nio executives, including CEO William Li, have rejected these allegations. They stated that half of the speed bumps were placed along the wheelbase of the ET9, and half along the wheelbase of the Maybach S-Class. They also encouraged those accusing the company of cheating to conduct their own tests if they did not believe the company's findings.

Testing the stacking of champagne glasses on the hood of a Nio ET9 (Video: CarNewsChina).

The Skyride intelligent chassis system is a fully active suspension system that can adjust 1,000 torque per second and independently control all four wheels to meet the demands of different vehicle operating situations.

The Nio ET9 model is expected to officially launch in March 2025, with a starting price of 660,000 yuan (approximately 2.3 billion VND) excluding the battery. Battery rental costs 1,128 yuan per month (approximately 4 million VND). The price including the battery is 788,000 yuan (approximately 2.75 billion VND).

The Nio ET9 was launched on December 21st, and the First Edition, limited to 999 units, sold out completely (Photo: Chinapev).

All 999 units of the Nio ET9 First Edition have already been pre-ordered. These versions feature numerous material upgrades and are priced 30,000 yuan (105 million VND) higher than the standard version. According to Deutsche Bank's forecast, sales of the ET9 will reach 1,500 units per month.

The Nio ET9 has dimensions of 5,325 x 2,017 x 1,621 (mm) in length, width, and height respectively, with a wheelbase of 3,250mm. This is also Nio's first model with a front storage compartment, with a capacity of 105 liters.

The ET9 uses a 120kWh battery pack, with a density of 292Wh/kg (Photo: Nio).

The car uses two electric motors mounted on each axle, creating a four-wheel drive system, delivering 697 horsepower and 700 Nm of torque. A 925V permanent magnet synchronous electric motor on the rear axle produces 456 horsepower, while a 241-horsepower asynchronous induction motor is located on the front axle. The ET9 is capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/o-to-xe-may/hang-xe-trung-quoc-bi-to-gian-lan-trong-bai-thu-nghiem-so-sanh-voi-maybach-20241224164537455.htm