Category: Nio

Former XPeng exec joins NIO as head of navigation division, report says

Former Internet center vice general manager Liu Fanfan has joined as head of the navigation and location services division, according to local media.

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NIO (NYSE: NIO) appears to be attracting a lot of XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) talent, and the trend continues.

Liu Fanfan, formerly vice general manager of XPeng's Internet center, has joined NIO as head of its navigation and location services division, local media outlet LatePost reported today.

Liu reports to Zhang Lei, NIO's vice president of digital cockpit and software development, and is also the head of smart cockpit delivery for NIO's NT 3.0 platform models, according to the report.

NIO is phasing out the NT 1.0 platform and transitioning its models to the NT 2.0 platform. The company's sub-brand models, which it plans to begin delivering next year, will be based on the next-generation NT 3.0 platform, according to the previously announced information.

Liu, who has worked for in-car navigation provider Telenav for more than 10 years, joined XPeng in March 2018 and was responsible for the map navigation, in-car systems and app ecosystem business at the Internet center.

During his time at the company, XPeng Internet center developed the in-car system Xmart OS, which debuted on the XPeng G3 in late 2018.

Xmart OS was upgraded to version 2.1.0 in October 2020, and introduced a full-scene voice interaction feature that allows control of 90 percent of XPeng's in-house developed applications by voice, the report noted.

XPeng's team expanded rapidly after its Hong Kong listing in June 2021, growing to nearly 14,000 people by the end of 2021, more than twice the size of the team at the end of 2020.

However, XPeng's team has undergone significant restructuring in 2022, with many of its mid-level R&D staff and executives leaving to join NIO between last year and this year, the LatePost report noted.

Last April, Harry Wong, formerly XPeng's director of self-driving products, officially joined NIO to take charge of the self-driving experience.

On September 6 last year, local automotive website Xchuxing reported that the former XPeng's head of voice recognition, Zhao Hengyi, had left in March and he would join NIO.

LatePost reported today that Zhao joined NIO ahead of Liu and is responsible for businesses including virtual voice assistant Nomi, reporting to Ted Li, NIO's head of product experience.

NIO kicks off preparations for NIO Day 2023

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NIO kicks off preparations for NIO Day 2023

is more likely to announce plans for its sub-brands than new NIO-brand models on NIO Day 2023.

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With about five months of the year gone, NIO (NYSE: NIO) has kicked off preparations for its biggest event of the year, NIO Day.

NIO today began recruiting user advisory group members for NIO Day 2023 in China, with the registration deadline of 8:00 pm Beijing time on June 3.

NIO Day is an annual event for NIO and its friends, and the company has had a NIO Day user advisory panel since 2019, according to an article posted on the NIO App today.

Only NIO owners or those who have ordered a NIO vehicle can apply to join the NIO Day user advisory panel, and they also need to have ample spare time to participate in discussions and preparations for the event.

"Users with relevant experience or skills in large-scale event planning, execution, content direction, music production and planning, and art curation are especially welcome to join us," NIO said.

It will conduct an initial screening based on applications and subsequent interviews. In late June, the company will announce the names of the NIO Day 2023 user advisory panel members.

NIO typically holds its annual NIO Day event at the end of each year or at the beginning of the following year, and unveils the latest models and technologies.

The last such event, NIO Day 2022, was held on December 24 in Hefei, Anhui province, the city where NIO's vehicle assembly plants are located.

The city of NIO Day is not decided by NIO, but rather by its customers' votes. The company is expected to continue this practice this year.

NIO launched its preparations for NIO Day 2023 at about the same time as it did for the last event.

The company began recruiting members for the NIO Day 2022 user advisory panel on June 7, 2022, and on July 15 began the process of selecting cities to host the event.

On August 29, 2022, the host city for NIO Day 2022 was determined to be Hefei, and on December 8, the event was scheduled for December 24.

NIO launched the EC7 and the new ES8 at the last NIO Day event, with deliveries of the former already starting a month ago and the latter expected to start in June.

There is no clue what new models or technologies NIO will unveil on NIO Day 2023.

On December 14 last year, local auto media Auto Home reported that NIO was going to build its own "Mercedes Maybach" model, which was already in the design stage and would be a luxury sedan priced at 1 million yuan ($144,000).

The luxury sedan will be operated under the NIO brand, not a sub-brand, and will compete with the Mercedes-Benz Maybach S-class, the report said, citing an NIO insider close to the project.

If things go well, the model would be released as early as 2024 and sold globally, the source added.

It is worth noting that these rumors have never been confirmed by NIO.

In addition, NIO management previously mentioned that the company plans to start delivering mass-market models in the second half of 2024, with prices in the RMB 200,000 to 300,000 range.

The sub-brand, internally codenamed ALPS, will be based on the NT 3.0 platform and powered by NIO's own batteries.

In addition to ALPS, NIO is also planning a third brand with the internal code name Firefly, which will debut in Europe and is expected to go on sale in the third quarter of 2024, according to information previously revealed by the company's management.

Including the new ES8, which has not yet begun delivery, NIO currently has six models on sale, which seems to be a well-established model matrix.

On NIO Day 2023, the company is more likely to announce information about the two sub-brands than new models.

NIO's Firefly project will have its own plant, but city not yet determined, report says

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NIO App stops showing wait time for new ES6

has produced some new ES6 vehicles based on designer-recommended configuration combinations, and deliveries of customized vehicles will begin in mid-June.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO's (NYSE: NIO) mobile app has stopped showing the wait time for the new ES6, which previously showed an expected delivery date in May.

The electric vehicle maker officially launched the new ES6 in China on May 24, when it announced a starting price of RMB 368,000 ($51,920) including batteries.

Deliveries of the new ES6 started in 13 regions of China on the night of the launch on May 24, NIO announced on Weibo in the early morning hours of May 25.

This is NIO's fastest model from launch to delivery as it has changed its strategy to produce some vehicles earlier for quicker delivery.

NIO began production of the new ES6 based on designer-recommended configuration configurations, and if consumers purchase these vehicles, deliveries would officially begin on May 25, according to a May 24 post on the NIO App.

Consumers who wish to customize the vehicles can lock in their orders in the NIO App, and deliveries will begin in mid-June.

Notably, NIO appears to still be in the process of ramping up capacity for the new ES6, and deliveries of the model appeared to be limited last week.

NIO vehicles had 1,600 insurance registrations last week, according to figures shared by its local peer today.

This means that NIO's cumulative sales for the month through last week were about 5,300 units. NIO's numbers for the first three weeks of May were 1,100, 1,200 and 1,400 units, respectively.

Expected delivery dates for NIO's other models remain unchanged today, with the new ES8 set to begin delivery in June, the ES7 with a wait time of about 4 weeks, the EC7 with 5-7 weeks, the ET7 with about 3 weeks and the ET5 with 2-3 weeks.

($1 = RMB 7.0874)

Data table: Latest wait times for NIO models

(Screenshots on May 30.)

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China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 28: Li Auto 7,100, XPeng 2,100, NIO 1,600

's cumulative sales so far this month were around 5,300 units, with the company launching and starting deliveries of the new ES6 on May 24.

For the week of May 22 to May 28, (NASDAQ: LI) sold 7,100 vehicles, continuing to lead among China's new car brands, the company said today on Weibo.

Li Auto didn't explain what that sales volume was based on, but apparently, they were insurance registrations. The company had suspended sharing those numbers earlier this month, but has now resumed sharing them.

Last week's numbers mean that Li Auto sold 25,413 vehicles from May 1 to May 28. In the first three weeks of May, Li Auto's numbers were 4,543, 6,670 and 7,100 vehicles.

Li Auto is currently untroubled by the product switch, and its founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang said on Weibo on May 24 that the company's five-seat SUV, Li L7, is expected to reach 20,000 monthly sales in October.

All of Li Auto's models currently on sale are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), with the other two models being the six-seat Li L9 and Li L8.

NIO (NYSE: NIO) sold 1,600 units last week, according to figures shared by Li Auto.

This means that NIO's cumulative sales for the month through last week were about 5,300 units. NIO's numbers for the first three weeks of May were 1,100, 1,200 and 1,400 units, respectively.

NIO officially launched the new ES6 on May 24, after the wait for the model by potential consumers seemed to have been holding down its sales.

Deliveries of the new ES6 began on the evening of May 24, although the vehicles were produced by NIO in advance rather than customized by consumers to their liking.

NIO began production of the new ES6 based on designer-recommended configuration combinations, and if consumers purchase these vehicles, official deliveries will begin on May 25, according to a May 24 post on the NIO App.

Consumers who wish to customize the vehicles can lock in their orders in the NIO App, and deliveries will begin in mid-June.

(NYSE: XPEV) vehicles sold 2,100 units last week, up from 1,500 units the week before. The numbers were 870 and 1,500 in the first two weeks of May, respectively.

Since May 1, XPeng vehicles have sold 5,970 units this month.

(NASDAQ: TSLA) sold 12,800 units in China last week, up from 10,200 the week before, according to figures shared by Li Auto.

That figure for Tesla was 5,928 and 9,990 in the first two weeks of May and 38,918 cumulatively so far this month.

was at 1,900 last week, down from 2,000 the week before and up from 1,500 in the second week of May. Its numbers for the first week of May are not available.

sold 2,100 units last week, up from 1,500 the week before. That figure was 1,000 and 1,700 units in the first two weeks of May, for a cumulative total of 6,300 units so far this month.

Leapmotor sold 3,600 units last week, up from 3,000 the week before. That figure was 2,200 and 2,500 units in the first two weeks of May, and 11,300 units so far this month.

China NEV insurance registrations for week ending May 21: Li Auto 7,100, XPeng 1,500, NIO 1,400

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NIO opens new plant in Hefei to produce swap stations

is aiming to add 1,000 battery swap stations this year, and to make up for the lack of capacity, it decided to build a new plant in Hefei to produce them, an executive said.

(NIO Power senior vice president Shen Fei talks to the media in Shanghai in March 2023. Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) has added a new factory to produce battery swap stations to support its aggressive plan to add 1,000 battery swap stations this year, which it announced three months ago.

A new battery swap station was shipped from the Hefei, Anhui plant on Friday evening, and the station was installed in Xiamen, Fujian this morning, according to NIO Power senior vice president Shen Fei.

Shen revealed the development today on Weibo, which is the first time we've seen content about NIO's new battery swap station factory in Hefei, home to two of NIO's vehicle assembly plants.

NIO decided to add 1,000 battery swap stations this year after the Chinese New Year, and to make up for the lack of capacity, the company decided to build a factory in Hefei to produce these facilities, Shen said.

It took three months from the time that decision was made to the time the first battery swap station was shipped from the plant, according to Shen.

Shen did not provide more details, but the progress appears to have been made with the help of NIO's battery swap station supplier.

Shenzhen-traded Shandong Weida Machinery, which has been supplying battery swap stations to NIO, said on March 29 that its Kunshan, Jiangsu-based subsidiary Swap had developed and delivered the third-generation battery swap stations for NIO.

Swap will continue to develop, produce and supply according to NIO's actual demand and orders in the future, Weida said at the time on an investor interactive platform.

Swap is a joint venture established in 2017 by NIO Power and Weida's industrial robotics subsidiary Demac, dedicated to the design, development, production and manufacturing of automatic battery swap systems, according to information on its official website.

It is unclear how many factories Swap has in China to produce battery swap stations for NIO, which has a factory in Hungary to produce the facility that went into operation in September 2022.

The third generation of NIO's battery swap stations was unveiled at the NIO Day 2022 event on December 24, 2022, capable of storing up to 21 packs, up from 13 for its predecessor generation and five for the first generation of the facility.

NIO announced plans at the time to add 400 battery swap stations by 2023, though that plan was raised to 1,000 on February 21.

William Li, NIO's founder, chairman and CEO, said at the time that the company would further accelerate the deployment of battery swap stations, with a goal of having more than 2,300 battery swap stations in China by the end of 2023.

Speaking at a press conference on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, Li said that NIO would add about 200 battery swap stations per month starting in June.

As of May 29, NIO had 1,432 battery swap stations in China, 383 of which are located along highways, according to data monitored by CnEVData.

The company also has 2,624 charging stations in China, providing 15,591 charging piles.

NIO swap station tracker

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NIO’s local peers react to launch of new ES6

The launch of the new ES6 has triggered rare reactions from several of 's local counterparts, highlighting the fierce competition in China's EV market.

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New model launches by local automakers rarely trigger reactions from their peers, and the new NIO ES6 is apparently one of those rare ones.

NIO officially launched the new ES6 in China last night, with its event starting at 7 pm and ending around 8:10 pm after announcing the price.

About a half hour after the event, Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of (NASDAQ: LI), said on Weibo that he had set a small goal in advance for his team to reach 20,000 monthly sales of the company's five-seat SUV, the Li L7, in October.

"Supplier partners, please trust us to keep up with capacity! " Li wrote at 8:40 pm yesterday.

Although Li did not mention NIO, he seemed to be reacting to the launch of the ES6, as the two models are seen as competitors in China, even though the ES6 is purely electric and the Li L7 is an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) that can be refueled.

In contrast to that Li Auto CEO's hint, an executive from HiPhi, another local car company, commented directly on the launch of the new ES6.

"Congratulations to NIO on the launch of the new ES6! Also sharing some information with those who follow HiPhi," HiPhi's brand and communications manager Xu Bin said on Weibo at 8:52 pm yesterday.

HiPhi is in the process of finalizing the pricing for the HiPhi Y series, with the 560 km range version expected to be set at a starting price of RMB 369,000 ($52,220), he said.

The HiPhi Y is HiPhi's third model and will be the brand's cheapest all-electric vehicle, with Xu revealing a price just RMB 1,000 higher than the starting price of the NIO ES6.

"HiPhi Y will open for delivery in July this year. If you are in a hurry to buy a car, you can go test drive the ES6, and if you are not in a hurry, you can wait for HiPhi Y," he wrote.

Compared to the comments of the two above, the words of a SAIC-GM-Wuling executive were more friendly, probably because the company is not in direct competition with NIO.

"Another new car went on sale this evening, the model costs more than RMB 300,000 and no one says it's expensive," Zhou Jinkai, deputy general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling's brand department, wrote on Weibo at 11:38 pm last night.

"It seems we still have to build up the brand, the product, the technology, all around," he said.

SAIC-GM-Wuling will launch a new mini EV model, the Baojun Yep, later today.

($1 = RMB 7.0663)

NIO officially launches new ES6, potentially lifting key factor holding back sales

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NIO starts delivery of new ES6 on night of launch day

Deliveries of the new ES6 began in 13 regions on the night of its launch on May 24, although officially announced that deliveries would begin on May 25.

(Image credit: NIO)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) previously said that deliveries of the new ES6 would begin the next day after its launch. But as it turned out, the new SUV was delivered to its first owners on the same night it went on sale.

Deliveries of the new ES6 started in 13 regions of China the night of its launch on May 24, NIO announced on Weibo early this morning.

The electric vehicle (EV) maker shared several images showing some of the scenes from the model's first deliveries on the night of May 24.

NIO officially launched the new ES6 during an event that began at 7 pm Beijing time on May 24, and pricing information for the model was only announced near the end of the event at around 8 pm.

The new ES6 is available in only one version, unlike the three previously offered versions of the first-generation ES6.

Including the battery, the new ES6 with the 75-kWh standard range battery pack starts at RMB 368,000 ($52,220), and for the 100-kWh version, the starting price will be RMB 426,000.

If consumers choose to purchase the car using NIO's BaaS (battery as a service) program, the new ES6 starts at RMB 298,000, with monthly rental fees of RMB 980 for the 75-kWh pack and RMB 1,680 for the 100-kWh.

For owners who get delivery of the new ES6 on the day of launch, they may be big fans of NIO and are not price sensitive, and getting delivery as early as possible is what they would prefer.

NIO has already begun production of the new ES6 based on designer-recommended configuration combinations, and deliveries would begin on May 25 for consumers who purchase these vehicles, a post on the NIO App said yesterday.

Consumers who wish to customize the vehicles can lock in their orders in the NIO App, and deliveries will begin in mid-June, it said.

($1 = RMB 7.0473)

NIO officially launches new ES6, potentially lifting key factor holding back sales

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NIO officially launches new ES6, potentially lifting key factor holding back sales

has produced a batch of the new ES6 and deliveries will begin on May 25. Deliveries of customized vehicles will begin in mid-June.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) today officially launched the new ES6 in China, potentially lifting a key factor that has held back its sales over the past few months.

The electric vehicle maker is allowing consumers to lock in orders for the new ES6 starting today, and those interested can make appointments to test drive the model today, with first deliveries set to begin tomorrow.

Like NIO's other models based on the latest NT 2.0 platform, the new ES6 features strong power and assisted driving hardware. As NIO's least expensive SUV, the new ES6 has competitive pricing.

Including the battery, the new ES6 with a 75-kWh standard range battery pack starts at RMB 368,000 ($52,220), and for the 100-kWh version, it starts at RMB 426,000.

If consumers choose to purchase the car using NIO's BaaS (battery as a service) program, then the new ES6 starts at RMB 298,000, with a monthly rental fee of RMB 980 for the 75-kWh pack and RMB 1,680 for the 100-kWh.

Notably, that price is at the low end of the price range in a questionnaire NIO sent to some NIO App users on May 11 to solicit pricing opinions for the new ES6.

Its previous action was more like an intentional expectation management move so that potential consumers would not be disappointed with the final pricing.

Many other local automakers have similar strategies, such as (OTCMKTS: BYDDY), which typically announces pre-sale prices for new models and then announces lower final prices.

The new ES6 is also less expensive than the first generation of the model based on the NT 1.0 platform, which was previously offered in three versions with starting prices of RMB 386,000, 426,000 and 496,000 respectively.

NIO has begun production of the new ES6 based on the designer's recommended configuration combinations, and deliveries will begin on May 25 for consumers who purchase these vehicles, a post on the NIO App today said.

Consumers who wish to customize the vehicles can lock in their orders in the NIO App, and deliveries for these vehicles will begin in mid-June.

The new ES6 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds under half-load conditions, with a distance of 34.5 meters from 100 km/h to the brake.

The new ES6 has a range of 490 km with the 75-kWh standard range battery pack and 625 km with the 100-kWh pack.

NIO's 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery pack, which will be put into use in July, will give the new ES6 a range of 930 km, according to William Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO.

NIO is scaling back the benefits it offers consumers, announcing on April 10 that from June 1, consumers who purchase the NIO ET7, EC7, ES7 and ET5 will no longer continue to receive free home chargers, and the free battery swap benefit will be adjusted to four per month.

NIO has been providing consumers with free home chargers and four free battery swaps per month for the past several years. If consumers choose to forgo the free home charger, they will receive 6 free battery swaps per month under its current policy.

For the new ES6 and the new ES8, these benefit changes will begin on August 1.

For NIO, the new ES6 is crucial, as it is the least expensive of NIO's SUVs and has been its main seller for the past several years.

NIO launched the first-generation ES6 in December 2018 and began delivering the model in China in June 2019.

In 2019, NIO delivered 20,565 vehicles, including 9,132 ES8s and 11,433 ES6s, with the ES6 contributing 55.59 percent, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

In 2020, the company delivered 43,728 vehicles, including 10,861 ES8s, 27,945 ES6s and 4,922 EC6s, with a 63.9 percent contribution from the ES6.

In 2021, NIO delivered 91,429 vehicles, including 20,050 ES8s, 41,474 ES6s and 29,905 EC6s, with a 45.36 percent contribution from the ES6.

Available data for 2022 show that from January to August, 32,877 units of ES6 were delivered, contributing 46 percent of NIO's total deliveries of 71,556 units during this period.

Potential consumers' wait for the new ES6 over the past few months may have been a critical factor in dampening NIO's sales, causing its April deliveries to fall to 6,658 units.

In the first three weeks of the month, NIO vehicles registered just 3,700 insurance units in China, data monitored by CnEVPost shows.

($1 = RMB 7.0473)

New NIO ES6 launch: Live updates

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