NIO will launch a 150 kWh battery and plans to invest over 15 billion yuan in research and development of autonomous driving, intelligence, and infrastructure.

Key Information Revealed by Qin Lihong at NIO’s 100 Degree Battery Sharing Event Today:

  • At this year’s NIO Day, NIO will launch the NT 2.0 autonomous driving platform, second generation battery swap station, first sedan, and 150 kWh battery.

  • The average transaction price of NIO’s entire product lineup is around CNY 440,000, with the ES8 at around CNY 500,000 and the ES6 and EC6 between CNY 400,000 and CNY 410,000.

  • NIO’s point-based red envelope feature has been patented globally, with each point being a blockchain, and generated CNY 200 million in revenue last year.

  • In 12 days, on January 3rd, there will be a second-hand car system release in the NIO user center, which is the final piece of NIO’s business model puzzle.

Qin Lihong further added some planning and data on NIO:

  • The NT 2.0 platform does not support hardware upgrades for current vehicle models.

  • The supplier of the lidar sensor will not be able to mass-produce until Q3 of next year, and the NT 2.0 vehicle models will not be mass-produced until Q4 of next year.

  • NIO has invested around CNY 15 billion in R&D, and will further increase R&D investment. NIO has over CNY 40 billion in cash on hand. With this money, NIO’s priority is to develop new generations of autonomous driving technology and intelligent human-computer interaction, as well as infrastructure for user services. Starting from Q2 next year, the service capacity of the second-generation battery swap station will be three times higher than the first generation, with an average of one station per day. Site selection work is almost complete.

  • NIO believes that the ultimate goal is intelligent electric vehicles. Qin Lihong stated that many transitional technologies and experimental products exist, but he believes that they will all return to the track of pure electric vehicles, and that fuel cells will not be mainstream in the short term.

  • NIO will definitely position itself as a high-end brand in the intelligent electric vehicle industry, because only high-end products have the ability to command premiums.- NIO’s current services are losing money, costing several billions a year. As the company expands, selling cars can become profitable while maintaining equal service. The company will focus more on lifestyle and branding to maintain its status.

  • In the third quarter of this year, NIO’s vehicle sales gross profit margin reached more than ten percentage points, with an average vehicle price of 440,000 RMB, and 40,000 estimated sales. Each car has a gross profit of 40-50 thousand RMB.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.