Byd vs Stellantis: Jury blocks Chinese brand's advertising. What happened

The dispute between Byd and Stellantis ended up on the table of the Advertising Self-Regulation Institute (IAP) jury, with the Chinese brand coming out on top. It all started on 8 January 2026, when Byd launched a nationwide advertising campaign called 'Operation Purification'. Without explicit reference - but definitely implied - to the engines produced by Stellantis, called Puretech, Byd offered a promotion that guaranteed up to 10,000 euros in bonuses to anyone who decided to scrap a car equipped with an oil-bath timing belt (of any brand). An advertisement that, before the official actions, triggered a great uproar on social networks and a real clash between the two groups. Fiat's CEO and global head of marketing at Stellantis, Olivier Francois, shared a message on Instagram about how Chinese carmakers should review the design of their cars before attacking European ones. Complete with a photo of a Byd model. The duel between the CEO of Fiat and Byd continued after Francois' proposal to limit the maximum speed of city cars with the aim of removing some Adas and reducing list prices. Byd's subsequent campaign had the flavour of a fairly explicit response: 'On safety, we never slow down,' was the claim.

Despite Byd's statements that he did not intend to attack Stellantis models directly, the Giurì has decided to suspend the 'Operation Purefication' advertising campaign from the message 'Is your belt going crazy? We'll give you some too: 122,000 R&D engineers - 60,000 registered patents - 250,000 km warranty"; "Do you have an oil-immersed belt? We're sorry it's always blue Monday for you - discover Byd's dedicated bonuses - Operation Purefication"; "But isn't it time for a change?"; "Belt problems? With Byd you pull it... off!". Specifically, "the Jury, having examined the acts and heard the parties, declares that the contested messages are in contrast with articles 2 (Misleading commercial communication), 14 (Comparison) and 1 (Denigration) 5 of the Code and orders their termination". The request to suspend the campaign was made, not surprisingly, by Groupe Psa Italia Spa (Italian subsidiary of Psa, Stellantis Group) to Byd Industria Italia Srl.

Byd's aggressive advertising campaign aimed to win over owners of models powered by the 1.2 Puretech engine with timing belt, engines subject to recall campaigns following significant faults. The technical issue is well known: the timing belt, working in direct contact with the engine oil - a solution designed to reduce friction and noise - is compromised over time by petrol vapours leaking into the oil. A phenomenon that manifests itself especially in urban use and on short journeys. Flaking of the belt can lead to its breakage, but the most serious problems arise from rubber residue that, as it accumulates, ends up blocking the oil pump, seriously compromising the effectiveness of engine lubrication. It should be noted that the current engines in the Puretech family have been redesigned and now feature a robust metal chain.