Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Shocks Auto Blogger With $700K Lawsuit For 'Maliciously Slandering' Review

Chinese EV giant BYD Co Ltd BYDDY BYDDF on Monday said that it will sue auto blogger Longzhu-Jiche for defamation.

What Happened: On Sunday, Longzhu posted a review of the D9 MPV from BYD’s premium Denza brand on Bilibili.

BYD, backed by Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway BRKA, accused the blogger of a “large amount” of false information, “maliciously slandering, belittling, and insulting the company.”

Longzhu caused serious damage to BYD’s brand reputation, the legal department of the company said on Weibo.

The EV giant is now demanding the blogger delete infringing remarks, publicly apologize, and pay 5 million yuan or close to $700,000 to the company as compensation.

“We always respect and accept suggestions from all walks of life and public opinion supervision. At the same time, we will resolutely take legal measures against malicious attacks and smears to defend our legitimate rights and interests,” the company wrote on Weibo.

Why It Matters: The blogger was posting intensively on BYD vehicle failures and fires over the past few months, as per a report from CnEVPost.

However, his Weibo account is presently under a ban and he hasn’t been posting on Weibo since April 26, the report added.

BYD is no newbie to defamation lawsuits. It has previously filed defamation lawsuits against the non-profit Alliance for American Manufacturing and Vice Media Group.

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