On September 8, the Beijing People’s Court Public Announcement website released a notice stating that BYD has filed a lawsuit against Chang Yao for online infringement disputes, with the case number (2025) Jing 0491 Minchu 7591.
According to Red Star News, it is widely believed that the defendant, Chang Yao, is the CEO of the Tank brand under Great Wall Motors (GWM). Since it has been impossible to contact Chang Yao, the court has initiated a public notice procedure and plans to formally hear the case in late September.
According to the Chinese court’s announcement, if no response is received from Chang Yao within 30 days after the publication of the notice, it will be considered that the complaint, response notice, and hearing summons have been successfully delivered. Chang Yao must submit his defense within 15 days after the notice period ends, and the trial is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the third day after the defense period ends (if it falls on a public holiday, the trial will be postponed) at the 42nd Court of Beijing Internet Court, conducted via remote trial.
Since July of this year, Chang Yao has been unreachable, and this situation is believed to be related to an internal anti-corruption campaign at Great Wall Motors. His last post on social media was on June 24. It is currently unclear whether Chang Yao has been removed from his position as CEO of GWM Tank, and both Great Wall Motors and BYD have not responded to the issue.
Public records show that Chang Yao graduated from York University with a bachelor’s degree in 2005. In 2022, he served as the Senior Director of User Operations at Great Wall Motors. In April 2024, he was promoted to Deputy General Manager of the Tank brand and became the CEO of the Tank brand in May 2025.
The Tank brand, which focuses on off-road vehicles, is a subsidiary of Great Wall Motors and became an independent brand in 2021. Currently, the brand offers models such as the Tank 300, Tank 400, Tank 500, and Tank 700. According to the production and sales report released by Great Wall Motors, the cumulative sales of the Tank brand in the first eight months of this year totaled 143,700 units, a decrease of 4.88% compared to the same period last year.
