Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund has launched a major lawsuit against Nio, claiming the Chinese electric vehicle maker manipulated its revenue reports and misled investors. Shares of Nio trading in Hong Kong sank by nearly 8%, with investors dumping the stock hours after the case became public. The legal action filed in August in the Southern District of New York directly named CEO Li Bin and former Chief Financial Officer Feng Wei. The suit alleges that the company wrongfully recorded over $600 million in battery-leasing revenue through Weineng, a company it secretly controlled but portrayed as independent. The filing says Nio’s financial disclosures omitted its ownership of Weineng, allowing it to inflate earnings and appear stronger than it was. Singapore’s wealth fund says Nio faked $600 million revenue The complaint claims Nio issued “materially false and misleading statements” about its relationship with Weineng, leading investors to believe the firm’s revenue growth was organic. The filing states this deception “artificially inflated the value of Nio’s securities.” GIC, Singapore’s sovereign fund, said it suffered tremendous losses after purchasing shares between August 11, 2022, and July 11, 2023. On the Singapore Exchange, Nio stock dropped 7.9% following the revelation. The lawsuit adds to growing turmoil for China’s once-unstoppable EV sector. The same industry that built 70% of the world’s electric vehicles is now battling financial cracks, falling sales, and rising political tension. BYD, the Chinese company that overtook Tesla as the top global EV seller last year, reported its first monthly sales decline in 18 months this September. According to CNBC, analysts say China’s automakers now operate with massive overcapacity, with over half of production capacity idle. The Chinese government is also tightening regulation on price wars that once fueled growth but have now gutted profit margins. US automakers lag as China’s EV edge widens While China’s carmakers face lawsuits and regulation, American firms are still playing catch-up. Ford recently admitted that it won’t have a truly competitive $30,000 electric truck until 2027, even after adopting techniques Chinese factories mastered years ago. Just last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley shared on social media that he spent six months driving a Xiaomi SU7 instead of his company’s models, describing the $30,000 Chinese sedan as “fantastic” and saying, “I don’t want to give it up.” The federal EV tax credits that helped Americans buy electric cars, already costing well above $30,000, were terminated last month by the Trump administration, which claims the policy protects Detroit. At the same time, China’s electric vehicles are advancing at breakneck speed, something Cryptopolitan has reported several times in the past. Earlier this year, BYD demonstrated five-minute charging capable of delivering 250 miles of range, paired with an advanced driver-assist system called God’s Eye. Most American EVs still need around 30 minutes for similar charging range. Even Elon Musk conceded that without protective barriers, Chinese automakers could “demolish most other car companies in the world.” Those barriers are now in place. President Donald Trump has imposed 54% tariffs on all Chinese goods and pushed tariffs on Chinese EVs up to 100%, effectively locking them out of U.S. showrooms. “As the words came out of Trump’s mouth, they were probably drinking champagne in BYD headquarters,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told the New York Post after Trump’s tariff announcement earlier this year. Ives said the trade taxes could cost U.S. auto brands as much as $100 billion per year while BYD gains room to expand in Europe, Mexico, and South America. The only thing that can stop Chinese EV makers now is themselves — and their own government. Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.
