Chinese car company accused of cheating in comparison test with Maybach

(Dan Tri) - A Chinese car brand was accused of fraud when comparing its chassis with a Maybach S-Class.

Nio has been getting a lot of attention for its Skyride smart chassis system, which has been highlighted by videos showing the car remaining incredibly stable over rough terrain.

The most famous of these is a video testing a tower of champagne glasses on the hood and driving over bumpy roads without them falling over, and a video comparing the company's ET9 model with a Maybach S-Class, using a wooden toy set.

The cheating allegations center on a second video, in which an eight-story wooden tower is placed on a table in the back seat to test the car’s sway over the same bumpy road at the same speed. The video shows that the wooden blocks on the Maybach S-Class toppled over, but not on the Nio ET9.

Video recorded by an outside camera shows the Maybach's body shaking violently when going over a bumpy road, while the ET9 is quite stable.

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

The allegations of cheating center on the spacing of the speed bumps, which many believe were deliberately placed to favor the wheelbase of the Nio ET9, so that the car can maintain stability.

Nio executives, including CEO William Li, have denied the allegations, saying that half of the speed bumps were placed on the ET9’s wheelbase and half on the Maybach S-Class’s wheelbase. They have also encouraged those accusing the company of cheating to do their own testing if they don’t believe the company’s testing.

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

The Skyride intelligent chassis system is a fully active suspension system that can adjust 1,000 torques per second and independently control 4 wheels to meet the requirements of different vehicle operating situations.

The Nio ET9 is expected to officially hit the market in March 2025, with a starting price of 660,000 yuan (2.3 billion VND) without the battery. The battery rental price is 1,128 yuan/month (about 4 million VND). The car price including the battery is 788,000 yuan (2.75 billion VND).

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

All 999 Nio ET9 First Editions have been booked. These versions have many material upgrades and cost 30,000 yuan (105 million VND) more than the standard version. According to Deutsche Bank's forecast, sales of ET9s will reach 1,500 units/month.

The Nio ET9 has dimensions of length, width, and height of 5,325 x 2,017 x 1,621 (mm) respectively, with a wheelbase of 3,250mm. This is also the first Nio model to have a front trunk, 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 two axles, forming a 4-wheel drive system, producing 697 horsepower and 700Nm of torque. The 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 0-100km/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