Singapore’s GIC has filed a US securities lawsuit against Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO. It alleges the company inflated revenue and profit through its battery-rental partner Wuhan Weineng, which led to investment losses for the sovereign wealth fund.
The complaint, filed in August 2025 in the Southern District of New York, names founder-CEO William Li and former CFO Steven Feng as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges securities fraud, and represents the first such action by a sovereign wealth fund against a Chinese company listed outside China, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported.
NIO confirmed the lawsuit in a September 2025 Form 6-K, noting the GIC case is related to the pending class action Saye v. NIO, et al.
GIC invested in Nio’s Series C round in March 2017, when it raised 600 million yuan (about $86 million that time). Other backers of the EV company included Chinese tech giants Tencent and Baidu, as well as investment majors TPG and Hillhouse Capital.
At issue is NIO’s Battery-as-a-Service model, which lets buyers rent battery packs from Weineng rather than purchase them with the vehicle, according to the lawsuit seen by CarNewsChina.
GIC alleges NIO recognised the full value of batteries as revenue upon transfer to Weineng while shifting depreciation costs off its balance sheet, and that US GAAP required revenue to be recognised over time in line with monthly rental payments.
GIC alleges the accounting boosted reported performance. NIO’s fourth-quarter 2020 revenue rose to 6.64 billion yuan (about $930 million) from 2.85 billion yuan ($399 million) a year earlier, while the company’s US shares later hit an all-time high near $62 in early 2021.
NIO maintains control of the batteries passed to Weineng at sale, satisfying performance obligations and supporting upfront recognition.
The company records the sales within vehicle revenue and discloses them as related-party transactions, according to its filings.
The lawsuit also challenges whether NIO must consolidate Weineng as a variable-interest entity. GIC alleges NIO effectively controls Weineng despite holding 19.84% after an August 2021 capital increase.
NIO’s US-listed shares closed up 0.22% at $6.82, after trading between $6.74–7.04 on Wednesday. The stock added 0.44% to $6.85 in after-hours dealing. The ADRs were priced at $6.25 in 2018 and rose to a high of over $62 in early 2021.
The company is also traded on the Singapore and Hong Kong stock exchanges.
DealStreetAsia has contacted GIC for comments.
