At the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, NIO released the new NIO ES6 on the NT2.0 platform. The new car will be officially launched in late May this year. As NIO's best-selling SUV model, the new NIO ES6 will shoulder the important responsibility of being the ballast of NIO's sales in the future. As NIO's models have fully switched to the NT2.0 platform, a product matrix of SUV+ cars such as ES7, EC7, ET7, and ET5 has been formed.
This year is recognized by the outside world as a great year for NIO products. According to previous plans, the number of NIO models based on the NT2.0 platform will further increase to 8 in 2023. In addition to the new ES8 released on NIO Day last year, NIO will also successively release derivative models such as EC6 and ET5 travel version on the NT2.0 platform.
In addition to the delivery of new cars, NIO’s important responsibilities this year go beyond that. First, after experiencing the "Free Battery Swapping on Highways during the Spring Festival" program, Weilai announced plans to build 400 new battery swap stations in 2023, further increasing the number to 1,000 new battery swap stations throughout the year. Second, in order to create a smart cockpit with a more outstanding experience, NIO established its own mobile phone team from scratch. Third, the research and development progress of Weilai NAD, which has full-scenario intelligent assisted driving, will also be further accelerated. At present, Xpeng, Huawei, and Ideal have all given time nodes for the push of pilot assisted driving in their respective urban areas.
On the afternoon of April 18, we had the honor to interview Li Bin, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, and Shen Fei, senior vice president of NIO Energy, and asked about NIO’s new car planning, energy replenishment system construction, mobile phone brand progress, Thoughts on issues such as the planning of million-dollar luxury cars and the progress of intelligent assisted driving.
The following is the transcript of the interview:
Media: Will NIO’s products (which are so numerous) have left and right hands fighting each other internally?
Li Bin: There are more models and more choices for users. There will definitely be some overlap between them. Today I saw a post saying that he originally wanted to buy ET5, but now he has to wait for ES6. This is normal. We will have 8 vehicles delivered based on the second-generation platform by July, and there will always be one that suits you. Basically, these 8 models cover 80% of the needs of the market of more than 300,000 yuan. There are still some products that have not been coveredCover, but 100% coverage is not required. For example, if there is a small sports car, we will not build it, and we will not build an MPV in the short term, because we feel that ES8 can actually meet the real needs of most MPVs. As for whether there is competition in the middle, it is a bit, as long as it is not so troublesome for users to choose. That’s it.
Media: Fighting against each other means choosing trouble.
Li Bin: You are right. It would be good if the decision-making cycle is longer. The price is also a little different, and the size is also a lot different, but it's actually not bad. There's not really that big of a fight. The difference between products and products is still quite big.
Media: What is NIO’s pricing strategy for ES6? Is the 400,000 range the most competitive?
Li Bin: Definitely. It turns out that in the era of gas cars, the user's mentality has changed to what is my budget? Buy a car worth 30,000 to 400,000 yuan or a mid-level SUV worth 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. Everyone has to choose, whether to buy a Q5 or a GLC or a GLC. It’s better to buy a Cadillac or other car for X3. This is the logic.
Now that we are in an era where oil and electricity compete with each other, users are a bit confused. When buying a gas car, follow this logic; when buying an electric car, the logic has not yet been established, so (the current situation) is from a car that costs tens of thousands of yuan to a car that costs millions. However, now that the tram brands have not yet been stratified, it is true that each company has its own secrets and unique skills. It is understandable that everyone talks about their own strengths. Weilai still firmly believes that everyone will return to value in the end. For example, my budget is more than 300,000, and what I want to buy is the most valuable model in this range. This value must be a comprehensive value, including products, services, and even some emotional experiences, such as community. It's just that now it's a bit chaotic and chaotic, but eventually the layering of the brand will be restored. I think high-end brands, mass market, and entry-level brands will still be divided in this way. One brand has cars ranging from tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, to hundreds of thousands. I think this is not in line with human nature.
The Weilai brand is aimed at the mainstream high-end market, and its main range is 300,000-600,000. In this range, we certainly believe that we are the most worth buying, and its value is still very high. For example, comparing the Audi A4L and the Weilai ET5, the average selling price of the ET5 is already 50,000 yuan more than the A4. It is more than 270,000 yuan, and ours starts at least 320,000 yuan. However, even though the A4 is fifty thousand cheaper than us, its value is still lower than that of the ET5. What we pay more attention to is to compete for value, not simply to compete for price. The business itself still needs to continue to operate. We will not be involved in a price war, but we are willing to compete in value.
I think product definition is the basis of pricing. No one has magic. The battery cost is there. The speaker needs to be improved, the cable will be long, and the computing power of 1000TOPS is required. Of course it is expensive. We are in many invisible places. It cost a lot of money. In the long run, users will definitely be able to appreciate its benefits. We are willing to build value and are unwilling to participate in a price war.
Media: I have a question for Shen Bo. Regarding battery replacement, will there be any difference between the high-speed scene and the urban scene? For example, if the high-speed is a battery swap station plus ultra-fast charging, will there be such a difference?
Shen Fei: The power swap station is standard. What type and quantity of piles are installed next to it must be determined according to the scene and power capacity conditions. What's the ideal scenario? Whenever possible, we will ask the team to report the piles as much as possible. If it is a 1250 transformer, and I hope to install a power swap station and 20 charging piles on the highway, then the service area will have to charge my rent, because my 20 kilowatt It doesn't occupy its space, which is the best high-speed experience. If I was charged rent, I wouldn't want to, so I installed four and pulled them down to see if I could install two 500-kilowatt ones.
The same is true in cities. For example, there is a large chain shopping mall, where users stay for about an hour and a half on average. I think that a maximum of 60 kilowatts is enough. Installing a larger capacity would be a waste. After you enter and go to the first counter, you remind him to come out and move his car. In some provinces, we may only be able to apply for the installation of 230 transformers. If my own power swap station has a large order quantity, the number of piles that can be equipped next to it is not that many, and it may be equipped with two 500 kilowatt super transformers. Charge, it may be a lot. Even if I install a 500-kilowatt pile, if my power swap station is particularly busy, the experience of that pile will not be very good.
The logic of your question is actually the same when it comes to ultra-fast charging. Its core depends on the power capacity and your service capabilities, as well as the user's car itself. The advantage of replacing electricity is that it solves two problems. The first is that as long as a user has replaced it, the user can leave at any time, and it is not necessarily related to the power capacity. The second is that there is a pile next to you. If you just want to recharge the battery, you can just charge it and go.
We will definitely promote the integrated charging and replacing method. This is our big logic. Specific to each point, it is necessary to make a comprehensive judgment based on the power capacity, site conditions and the attributes of the user's stay in this place to make the best plan. In the early days, when the third-generation stations that everyone saw were just launched, they still had standard configurations. A power swap station with two 500-kilowatt units and one other pile should follow this logic.
Media: Can you tell me what the number of battery replacement stations has been so far? Are the battery swap stations we built this year mainly open to NIO users or sub-brand users?
Li Bin: (Mainly for) NIO users. It is now 1,356 and will exceed 2,000 by the end of the year. If you can't surpass it, you will meet Shen Fei on other occasions. I don't know where on other occasions. Anyway, it has nothing to do with us.
Just kidding, our entire energy team is still very capable. We are a recharger and exchanger. As long as it is charged, all users can use it. 80% of our electricity is currently used by other brands. All the more than 10,000 charging piles built this year will definitely be open. As for sharing, our third-generation website itself is compatible, but it is mainly for the NIO brand and does not consider sub-brands.
Media: At the ideal press conference this morning, they announced that MAX 3.0 is free for life. So combined with the recent NIO NOP+ subscription plan, how do you view this matter?
Li Bin: Each company has its own pricing strategy. In fact, this is not complicated. Collecting money in one time, whether it is included in the car price or not, is just a word game. If I increase the price of the car by 30,000 and then say it is included, what's the difference? No difference. Let’s go back to how things should be and think about it reasonably from the perspective of user interests.
We have always said that we start from the interests of users, and we hope to treat users as ourfriends to think about things. Anyway, I don’t really know how to go to our users and collect all the money at once for a service that they may or may not be able to use. I don't think that's the most reasonable thing to do.
The most reasonable thing is to use it on demand this month when he needs it. In fact, if you talk about tens of thousands of dollars, the interest for a year will be quite a lot. Why bother? And how long will this car be used? How many scenes will it be used in? And whether my functions work well or not can be decided by the users themselves based on their needs. If our service is good and he uses it this month, he will continue to pay next month, which is 380 yuan. If it is NAD, it is 680 yuan. If he doesn’t pay next month, he won’t need it if he goes abroad this month. He won’t need it if he travels. This is normal.
It was an immature idea for us to charge a large package of AP back then, but we would not do that today. Because if we do this today, it is actually unfair to users. It is fairer and more in line with the interests of users to pay on demand. You see, we owe users a debt of gratitude. Now we have to give away ten years to the big NP and five years to the small NP. Why do we give it away? It shows that the method at that time was wrong.
Media: What is the progress of NIO’s previously planned million-dollar model? Is it time for more than one million pure electric vehicles or new energy vehicles to be marketed or for us to participate in competition? Is it mature or has it arrived?
Li Bin: It is unlikely that the Weilai brand will have a million-dollar car. Even if it is retrofitted, it is unlikely that the short-term product planning will go as far as this. However, for a market of more than one million, we have also seen opportunities in such markets, but more in the form of investment. For example, we invested in Lotus, and we are its shareholders, and we will also share some technologies. We will also invest in some other models for the niche luxury market, but we will not do this ourselves. We really have too much energy and we won’t be doing this in the short term.
Media: What is NIO’s approach to connecting mobile phones and cars? Is there anything you can disclose?
Li Bin: Our idea is very simple. 50% of Weilai’s users are Apple and 50% are Android. After Huawei was hit, the trend has now become 60% Apple and 40% Android. Nowadays, these mobile phone companies are indeed not very open. Many of our functions cannot be used to the full capacity of my car. For example, UWD is not open enough and is standard on our cars, so we can’t make the most of it. Android is more open, but now they all want to make cars, which makes this a bit embarrassing. likeIf they didn't make cars, it would have been a pleasant cooperation.
Now that it is open, how can we communicate? We are also forced to create an Android phone for our users that best matches our car and can also better match the design of our car.
But we definitely don’t regard mobile phones as our main business. Our goal is very simple. If half of our Android users choose us, we will be very happy. Although I said that it is easier to make a mobile phone than to make a car, it is not easy either. After all, the mobile phone is curled up more heavily now. If we want to make its basic experience good, it must be fast, stable, and economical. The connection experience with our cars will undoubtedly be particularly good, but the basic experience will go a long way, and we need to manage everyone's expectations. However, our users have already bought this car, and if they buy one of our mobile phones, the connection with the car will be better. This matter is our bottom line.
Media: Regarding NIO’s intelligence, current thinking includes the progress of previous research and development, and how to consider the cost of the algorithm in the future?
Li Bin: Our current plan is to enhance pilot assistance in the next version, and NOP+ and NAD will be developed together. In fact, it has many data closed loops, many data processing aspects, and algorithm iterations, which will definitely be faster and will better meet strategic needs including large models.
On July 1st, our enhanced navigation assistance will be officially commercialized. We have announced this a few days ago. Before the end of June, we will trial-run our NAD services in a few cities, such as Shanghai. Of course, there are actually some issues in this area that are not just technical. We have always felt that we need to do some innovation with government authorities, including some commercial and regulatory issues. Let me give you an example. If it is an AD-type service, no matter how it is called, it must bear the responsibilities under the system. But regarding this responsibility, what kind of responsibility do you bear? If there is a problem, who will determine whose responsibility it is? These two questions are very specific. You can't say that I bear responsibility. It can't be unlimited responsibility. There are still many things that are not only solved by technology, but also some complex things that need to be solved.