Chinese electric automaker Nio announced plans to launch lower-cost new energy vehicle (NEV) brands in the future as it aims to advance in the rapidly growing industry, Yicai Global reports.
Strategy
Nio aims to offer smart electric vehicles of various price ranges as they can share more technologies than traditional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles.
That said, it will enable the company to employ high-end applications in cheaper models in the future, Nio Founder and Chief Executive Li Bin implied at a recent press conference.
Nio expects that expanding its market base will aid it in reducing the costs of future technologies, Li further noted.
Investments
CEO Li also stated Nio’s rapid business growth, with its car offerings selling above CNY300,000 (USD42,000) compared to other luxury brands in Shanghai and other developed cities in the country.
According to the local report, the Nio boss revealed that the Chinese automaker’s investments already reached more than 70 companies.
Li reportedly added that Nio’s high-end product positioning prompted them to strive to improve the comfort across its all-electric vehicle models.
It reportedly secured a $2.2 billion investment from CYVN Holdings from the Abu Dhabi government last week. CEO Li asserted that this major investor seriously examined the automaker’s business before deciding to invest, which significantly mirrors its confidence in Nio and the overall Chinese NEV industry. Apart from the Middle Eastern investor, CEO Li emphasized that Nio already has multiple investors worldwide.
Nio’s newest Firefly brand
EV-a2z previously reported Nio’s plans to launch its new affordable Firefly sub-brand for the European market in 2025. Apart from Firefly, the Chinese automaker also aims to introduce its family cars-focus Alps sub-brand.
These plans are crucial for Nio’s strategy to expand its reach to the lower-priced mass market in China. Interestingly, Chinese reports estimate the Alps to have a price range of RMB 200,000 ($28,130) to RMB 300,000. Likewise, Electrek suggests that Firefly may hit an RMB 200,000 price point.
Nio has just opened pre-orders for the new ET9 on December 23. It is currently the second-priciest model ever, with a base price of CNY800,000, just behind Yangwang U8’s CNY1.1 million (USD154,100). Nio expects to commence delivery in Q1 2025. Despite this premium price, we can now expect the brand to continuously work to launch lower-cost models to tap into a wider customer base.
