Chinese EV brands Zeekr and Neta accused of inflating sales using insurance scheme
Chinese electric vehicle makers Zeekr and Neta reportedly inflated their car sales figures by insuring vehicles before they were actually sold to customers.
Neta booked early sales for over 60,000 cars between January 2023 and March 2024 by purchasing insurance policies on vehicles ahead of sale, enabling them to meet aggressive monthly and quarterly targets, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Zeekr, owned by Geely and currently being taken private, used a similar scheme in late 2024 through its main dealer in Xiamen, registering vehicles with insurance to boost sales numbers artificially. This practice has been described as “zero-mileage used cars” in the industry and has drawn scrutiny from Chinese regulators amid concerns over unfair competition and misleading financial reporting.
The scheme pressured dealers to comply with inflated sales targets, sometimes without informing buyers that their vehicles already had insurance active before purchase. Zeekr claims the insured cars were for showroom display and maintains they were legally new when sold, while investigations continue.
The Chinese government is reportedly planning tighter regulations to curb this practice, including restrictions on reselling insured vehicles within six months.
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