Audi Hits EV Startup NIO With a Trademark Lawsuit Over its Vehicle Naming

​China’s electric vehicle startup NIO Inc, which is expanding to Europe including Germany, was named in a lawsuit filed from German carmaker Audi over the naming of its electric SUVs. NIO currently offers a seven-passenger SUV named the ES8, as well as a mid-size model named the ES6. Audi says the two NIO models infringe on its trademark for its performance models designations, the S6 and S8.