In the field of gasoline cars, there are three first-class luxury brands: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.
In the era of electric vehicles, which luxury brands are among the top-tier?
At present, there may not be a recognized answer. Tesla may meet the criteria in terms of models, prices, and sales volume, but in terms of quality, refinement, and luxury, which represent the basic elements of automotive luxury, Tesla seems to fall short.
NIO has not fallen short in these three aspects since the first product, temperament. What NIO lacks is the market dominance of “top-tier luxury brands”.
Indeed, NIO has achieved a “average price higher than BMW and Audi” in the domestic market, but it is worth noting that this is achieved only on the premise of having only mid-size and large-size SUVs. If BMW’s four models of X3, X4, X5, and X6 are pulled out for statistics, the average price is probably a different result.
The real first-class brands never rely on misleading competition.
NIO has never achieved the kind of market dominance like Tesla Model 3, which has dominated the global market and surpassed 34C.
However, everything changed when NIO announced the price of ET5 at the 2021 NIO Day.
NIO’s annual blockbuster debut ET5:
With ET5, we can start by looking at the price: the 75kWh version starts at 328,000 RMB, and the 100 kWh version starts at 386,000 RMB. If the BaaS is counted, the threshold for buying an ET5 drops to 258,000 RMB, based on the price of the basic Tesla rear-wheel-drive version Model 3 (original extended version of Model 3).
To be honest, many bigwigs who pay attention to NIO have already guessed this price before the press conference. After all, NIO had previously hinted at “not doing the market below 300,000 RMB” and “wanting to release a product cheaper than all current models”. Moreover, with the 70,000 RMB Debuff added by BaaS, the price of Model 3 can basically be estimated.
But at the moment when the price was announced at the press conference, the entire venue still screamed. The reason is actually very simple-ET5’s data on paper is really amazing.In terms of power, the ET5 comes with a standard front 150 kW asynchronous motor and a rear 210 kW permanent magnet motor, with a maximum output power of 360 kW. With this power, the ET5 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds, and the standard four-piston calipers allow it to brake from 100 km/h to 0 in just 33.9 meters.
It is worth noting that the ET5 is also the first model from NIO to use a front asynchronous and rear permanent magnet motor configuration. Compared to the previous NIO performance models with a front permanent magnet and rear asynchronous motor configuration, the ET5’s power output under low-load conditions will feel more like a rear-wheel-drive car. Compared to NIO’s previous sporty models with dual permanent magnet motors, this power configuration achieves better overall energy performance.
With the power of 4.3 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, the 75 kWh version of the ET5 has a CLTC (China’s New Energy Vehicle Test Cycle) range of 550 km. This data is similar to that of the rear-wheel-drive version of Model 3, but the latter has one less motor and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 6.1 seconds. The 100 kWh version of the ET5 has a CLTC range of over 700 km, while the high-performance version of the Model 3 has a CLTC range of 675 km. However, Tesla’s acceleration is more than 1 second faster, and the comparison between the two vehicles is quite close.
In terms of chassis, the NIO ET5 uses a unique combination of front and rear five-link suspensions without air suspension. From NIO’s perspective, not providing air suspension is a move to allow big brother ET7 to lead in terms of configuration, and having only one suspension setting reduces the production configuration combinations, improving production efficiency and reducing costs, which is also a good thing for mass production.
From a consumer’s perspective, I don’t think there are any problems with such hardware configurations at a price of 328,000 RMB. Although I have not yet experienced the mechanical performance, the ET5 is NIO’s new generation NT2.0 platform’s new car model, and as the main sporty model, it is still worth having some expectations. NIO also specifically emphasized ET5’s attributes, such as the front and rear 50:50 axle load ratio, the 482.6 mm overall vehicle center of gravity height, and the 1,685 mm wheelbase, which make the ET5 look like a vehicle with a strong sporty foundation.## Then it’s the interior design of NIO, the ET5 basically replicates the style of ET7, the dashboard, center console, central armrest, central control screen are basically the same as ET7, but more nightclub-style atmosphere lights added to the car make the ET5 more exaggerated and showy. Compared to the cars in the 300,000 yuan segment today, the impact on design and high-end feeling is evident, and it can be considered on par with the big brother in this field, Mercedes’ new C-Class.
However, the above is just the dessert of ET5. In order to exhaust the rational consumption of consumers, NIO even spared no effort to hurt its own kind.
The 8155 cab chip, the AMOLED high-resolution central control screen, the 23-speaker Dolby panoramic sound, and the frameless electric suction door on ET7 are standard on the ET5.
The combination of 4 NVIDIA Orin chips, a lidar, and 7 8 million pixel ADAS cameras on ET7 is also standard on the ET5.
Spending the money on an ET5, getting the configuration of an ET7, this immediately reminds me of the feeling when the Apple iPad mini used the same chip as the first-generation iPad that year. The mind is full of “fragrance,” and the mind is driven by irrational cost-effective thinking to order uncontrollably.
Even when it comes to the rights of car owners, the cost-effectiveness of ET5 is once again highlighted:
- 10-year unlimited mileage warranty for first-time car owners;
- Lifetime free battery replacement for first-time car owners (limited to 6 times per month);
- Lifetime free road rescue service;
- Lifetime free car networking；
- Free home charging pile.
You should know that this is currently the cheapest model of NIO, but this time NIO did not cut back on services. The attractiveness of lifetime free battery replacement benefits is undeniable for a pure electric vehicle priced at 328,000 yuan.
In fact, luxury brands are not scary, and cost-effective gameplay is not scary either. But when NIO combines the two, the ET5 becomes a unique presence in today’s Chinese market. It uses 100% NIO’s form to directly link the two things that everyone desires most, and then uses such straightforward prices to entice every consumer in this segment.
Looking at 2021, the release of ET5 can be considered the most exciting and impulsive one. When I saw the intention users around me, regardless of Tesla, XPeng, or even JiXieke, all started to hesitate on ET5, the lethality caused by NIO’s operation is evident.
After all, even the ET7 has become a victim this time.### Publishing is just the beginning
For NIO today, the importance of ET5 is no less than that of Model 3 for Tesla years ago. From the recent sales of the first-generation platforms ES8, ES6, and EC6, we can see that it is difficult for NIO to maintain the first place in sales among new forces. Moreover, the sales ceiling of ET7, which is about to be delivered, is difficult to reach five digits due to its high product positioning.
A product that can truly boost sales must be able to snatch food from the mouth of the top players. ET5 has obviously made sufficient preparations for this in terms of product and pricing strategies, but NIO still faces more challenges.
Five years ago, the release of Model 3 took Tesla to a new level, but after that, the difficult production of Model 3 almost caused Tesla to go bankrupt. According to NIO’s financial report, ET5 will be produced in the newly built Xinqiao Industrial Park and will start delivery in September 2022, which is just over nine months from now.
Considering that it is a new factory, and NIO has many new attempts on ET5, such as the integrated die-casting afterbody mentioned in the previous release, brakes and suspension from new suppliers, plus the lingering chip shortage, there is still a lot for NIO to do on the production side before delivery.
But the good news is that ET5 shares the cockpit hardware and auxiliary driving hardware with ET7. The ET7 to be delivered at the end of February can help ET5 complete some trial work ahead of time.
For NIO, another challenge brought by the mass production of ET5 is the pressure on the service system, and about half of NIO’s employees are engaged in car-owner service-related work, including charging and roadside assistance.
How much capacity does NIO’s high-quality service have? This is a common question about the “NIO model” and also a problem that NIO will face in the future.
NIO Day, not just ET5
This year’s NIO Day was somewhat overshadowed by the excitement of ET5, but the other parts of the event are still worth appreciating. Let’s do a quick summary of the data analysis section in the first half of the event.
Energy system
As of December 18, 2021, NIO has built a total of 733 battery swapping stations, including 197 high-speed swapping stations within 1 km of highway exits. During the same period, NIO also had 564 supercharging stations and 604 destination supercharging stations, including 3,136 supercharging piles and 3,348 destination charging piles, and more than 440,000 third-party charging piles.
One interesting statistic is that 77.1% of NIO’s charging power is used for third-party users, which reflects the usage rate of battery swapping on NIO users.
For 2022, NIO plans to expand its battery swapping stations to 1,300, increase its supercharging stations to 6,000, and destination charging stations to 10,000.
User Co-creation
490 users participated in this year’s NIO Day co-creation activities, and NIO users can be seen from the hosts and performers on stage to everyone in the videos.
According to NIO’s statistics, NIO’s 12,000 users participated in 120 public welfare activities and established 14 industry communities with the support of NIO’s user trust.
In addition, some NIO users have become “Welfare Partners” and spontaneously provide benefits to NIO car owners in their own business areas. For example, NIO users with restaurants give discounts to NIO car owners who come to their restaurant.
As of December 18, 2021, 232 users had become Welfare Partners, and NIO officially followed up on this behavior and provided substantial support. In 2022, NIO will allocate 80 million points (equivalent to approximately RMB 8 million) to support the Owner Welfare Partner Program.
Conclusion
After a year of “new car vacuum period” in 2021, NIO will usher in new members soon in 2022. Besides the popular ET5 released yesterday, the ET7 to be delivered at the end of February will open up a new market for NIO.
According to NIO’s disclosure during the previous financial report meeting, NIO will also release an SUV based on the NT2.0 platform near the Beijing Auto Show. Considering the current response to the ET5, this new car, probably an “SUV version of the ET5”, is likely to receive many orders. NIO is launching three new cars this year, and none of them is just a filler car, showing its tremendous evolution compared with two years ago.
Although the title mentions the cost-performance ratio, NIO’s estimated gross profit margin for the NT2.0 model is 25%. This means that NIO’s ET5 price of RMB 328,000 is not a loss-making offer but is based on reasonable profit margin. Back in the day, ES8’s gross profit was once negative, and various “NIO sorry” (NIO药丸) memes were popular at that time.2020年，小鹏从G3到P7的进化颠覆了很多人对于这家公司的看法，我想如今蔚来ET5发布以后应该也会有很多人发出类似的感慨。
我相信等到某天ET5月销过万的时候，这种感触会更深刻一些。
2020年，小鹏从<G3>到<P7>的进化颠覆了很多人对于这家公司的看法，我想如今蔚来<ET5>发布以后应该也会有很多人发出类似的感慨。
我相信等到某天<ET5>月销过万的时候，这种感触会更深刻一些。
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.