"Autonomous driving technology will be so mature that traffic accidents will become history."
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Category: William Li
Nio phone will be world’s 1st smartphone truly designed for cars, says William Li
No one has really thought about how to design a phone around a car before, Li said.
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Nio CEO credits rapid EV adoption in China to open market and competition
William Li said the openness and fierce competition in the Chinese market were key to the rapid adoption of EVs, implicitly blaming US protectionism.
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Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto CEOs pose for rare photo amid intensifying competition among China’s EV trio
They were last pictured together on June 6, 2020, when Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto were all struggling to boost sales.
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NIO says Abu Dhabi investment took just 3 weeks from talk to deal
The partnership, which went from discussion to agreement in just three weeks, demonstrates Abu Dhabi's commitment to investing in technology innovation and clean energy transformation, NIO said.
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NIO (NYSE: NIO) announced yesterday that it has received an investment of about $1.1 billion from CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi government fund, to strengthen its balance sheet and support business growth.
In an article posted on its mobile app, William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, provided some details about the deal.
The partnership, which went from discussion to agreement in just three weeks, demonstrates Abu Dhabi's commitment to investing in technology innovation and clean energy transformation, and ultra-efficient decision-making and execution, Li said in an article posted on the NIO App yesterday.
They have a vision and execution that is highly aligned with NIO's Vision, Action philosophy, Li said.
"I believe the partnership will further drive the vision of Blue Sky Coming to fruition at a sooner date," Li added.
NIO signed a share subscription agreement on June 20 with CYVN Holdings, which will invest a total of about $1.1 billion in the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company through the purchase of additional new shares in NIO and the transfer of shares from an existing shareholder.
In addition to the investment, the two companies will also strategically collaborate on NIO's international business, Li said.
The investment reflects NIO's unique value in the global smart EV industry and will provide continued momentum for the company's long-term growth, Li said in the NIO App article.
CYVN Holdings' investment in NIO comes at a time when the global EV market, particularly in China, is growing rapidly, resulting in a diminishing reliance on oil.
Oil nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, are already actively embracing this change.
On December 7, 2022, Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) startup Enovate Motors signed a deal in Saudi Arabia with local company Sumou Holding to jointly build a NEV production plant there.
The two parties will spend a total of about $500 million in two phases in Saudi Arabia to build a production and R&D base with an annual capacity of about 100,000 NEVs, and the facility will be the first Chinese-branded NEV production base in the country, Enovate said at the time.
On June 12, a statement from Saudi Arabia's state news agency said the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment had signed a $5.6 billion deal with Chinese EV company Human Horizons to collaborate on developing, manufacturing and marketing vehicles.
BREAKING: NIO secures $1.1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi fund
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NIO’s William Li attends high-level Sino-German meetings as Chinese Premier visits Europe
NIO was invited to attend a roundtable of Sino-German entrepreneurs and was the only smart electric vehicle company present.
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William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO (NYSE: NIO), was one of the entrepreneurs who accompanied the Chinese Premier to Europe and participated in high-level Sino-German meetings.
On June 20 local time, 15 Chinese and German companies, including NIO, State Grid, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and SenseTime, were invited to attend a roundtable of Sino-German entrepreneurs in Berlin, NIO Europe vice president Zhang Hui announced yesterday on the company's mobile app.
NIO is the only smart electric vehicle (EV) company among them, and Li participated in the roundtable, Zhang said, adding that the NIO CEO also attended the 11th China-Germany Economic and Technical Cooperation Forum on the same day.
As an EV company that insists on global development, NIO has developed a deep presence in Germany, Zhang said.
The company set up a global design center in Munich in 2015 and an innovation center in Berlin in 2022 to explore smart cockpits, autonomous driving and energy technologies.
NIO currently employs more than 1,300 people in Europe, mostly in Germany, Zhang said, adding that the company is creating more jobs in Germany as its research and development business deepens.
Meanwhile, NIO has established good relationships with German companies, including ZF, Continental and Bosch, and is actively seeking opportunities for broader supply chain cooperation, he said.
NIO has now entered five European countries -- Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway -- and is delivering models locally including the ES8, ET7, EL7 and ET5.
The company has six NIO Houses, five NIO Spaces and 49 service centers overseas. It also has 16 battery swap stations, 8 charging stations, 26 charging piles overseas, and access to over 400,000 overseas third-party charging piles overseas.
In Germany, NIO has three NIO Houses, located in Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, Zhang noted.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is visiting Europe, his first trip since the formation of the new Chinese government. Li was previously the party chief in Shanghai, where NIO is headquartered.
Premier Li and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz jointly attended the Sino-German entrepreneur roundtable on June 20, local time, and exchanged views with more than 30 business representatives, according to a report by Xinhua.
The governments of both sides should create a favorable environment and stable expectations for business operations so that enterprises can study and respond to risks in accordance with market and economic laws, and achieve mutual benefits and win-win situations in open cooperation, Li said.
China will continue to expand its opening to the outside world and continue to build a market-oriented, rule of law and international business environment, Li said, adding that he hopes Germany will continue to keep its market open and create a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest in Germany.
There is a vast space for Sino-German cooperation in fields including the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and green development, and with the joint efforts of entrepreneurs from both countries, Sino-German cooperation will surely continue to achieve new results, he said.
BREAKING: NIO secures $1.1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi fund
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Nio’s CEO, William Li, arrived on a surprise visit to Germany
First Musk in China, now William Li in Germany.
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NIO’s William Li responds to price cuts across entire lineup
NIO has been discussing this adjustment internally for a long time, and as of 3 am today the NIO team was still working on it, William Li said.
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NIO (NYSE: NIO) today announced the largest price and benifit adjustment in its history in an attempt to boost sales. The company's helmsman responded to the move.
NIO has been discussing the adjustment internally for a long time, with input and suggestions from some of its customers, William Li, the electric vehicle company's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a reply to an article in the NIO App.
The company had so much to consider for this that the NIO team was still working on it as of 3 am today, he said.
Now is the most appropriate time to announce the change, although the company still has some things to think about and can't make everyone happy, Li said.
NIO lowered the starting prices for all models by RMB 30,000 yuan ($4,200) starting today and made the battery swap service, which was previously offered four or six times a month for free, a paid option.
Under the latest pricing system, NIO's cheapest model, the ET5 sedan, starts at RMB 298,000, and if consumers choose to lease the battery with the BaaS (battery as a service) option, the vehicle starts at RMB 228,000.
The new ES6, which only went on sale and began deliveries late last month, starts at RMB 338,000 under the new pricing system and RMB 268,000 under the BaaS model.
In fact, many NIO supporters in China have been calling for the adjustment on social media for a long time.
NIO initially offered owners unlimited free battery swap service and free home charging piles, and scaled back the entitlement to six free services per month and a free home charging pile a few years later.
On April 10, the company announced that effective June 1, consumers who purchase the NIO ET7, EC7, ES7, and ET5 will no longer receive a free home charger, and the free battery swap entitlement will be adjusted to four times per month.
Since the free battery swap service is directly tied to the sale of NIO vehicles, it discourages potential consumers in areas where the number of battery swap stations is small from taking an interest in NIO vehicles, as they may believe that the cost of their vehicle purchase includes the battery swap service that they will not be able to enjoy in the short term.
At the same time, the high price of NIO vehicles means that its owner base is more likely to have a fixed parking space than other brands, and for these people, charging at home is cheap, making the free battery swap service redundant.
In a June 9 analyst call following NIO's first-quarter earnings announcement, Li said the company was considering adjusting customer benefits, such as free battery swap service that some owners may not need, hinting at today's move.
($1 = RMB 7.1435)
BREAKING: NIO cuts starting prices by $4,200 for all models and makes battery swap benefits optional
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NIO Capital hosts investor conference, William Li highlights NIO’s choice in times of uncertainty
"We need to think strategically with a long-term mindset and use that to guide our short-term actions," Li said.
(Image credit: NIO Capital)
NIO Capital recently held its annual investor conference in Hefei, Anhui province, where its managing partner William Li spoke and highlighted the choices NIO (NYSE: NIO), of which he is a founder, is making in times of uncertainty.
Li is not only at the helm of NIO Capital, a venture capital firm with a US dollar fund as well as a RMB fund, but is also the founder, chairman and CEO of NIO.
The conference was the first time in three years that NIO Capital brought together investors from its RMB and US dollar funds, and in addition to presentations and roundtable conversations, attendees toured NIO's manufacturing facilities, according to a press release today.
Li gave a keynote speech at the conference, sharing his views on the development of NEVs (NEVs) and corporate strategy, according to the release, which included a photo showing Li highlighting NIO's choice in times of uncertainty.
Last year was a landmark year for the global NEV industry, as global sales of NEVs exceeded 10 million for the first time, with China contributing close to 70 percent of the sales, according to Li.
Even during the Covid epidemic, China's NEV sales performance was still surprising, showing that the NEV industry has fully transitioned from being policy-driven to being product-driven and market-driven, which is a historic watershed, Li said.
Nonetheless, the future remains challenging, and increased uncertainty is a trend that almost everyone agrees on, he said.
"In today's world, we must learn to think about how to grow, how to manage risk, and how to take advantage of opportunities in a more volatile and uncertain world," Li said.
"We need to think strategically with a long-term mindset and use that to guide our short-term actions. We need to be more aggressive in meeting the challenges of the market while ensuring that the company's operational risks are manageable," he added.
Ian Zhu, another managing partner at NIO Capital, also spoke and said the venture capital firm has made aggressive investments in the areas of smart cockpits, battery technology, energy transition, semiconductors and automotive ecology since 2022.
NIO Capital didn't provide much more on NIO, though many of its investments are around the NEV industry chain and are sometimes made alongside NIO.
NIO and NIO Capital invested in fusion startup Neo Fusion, taking a 19.9 percent and 10.1 percent stake, respectively, according to a CnEVPost report last week.
NIO also seems to be hoping that NIO Capital's investment will help it get better access to resources for building more attractive electric vehicles.
NIO announced the panoramic digital cockpit PanoCinema when it launched the ET5 sedan on December 18, 2021.
It announced at that time the introduction of AR glasses developed jointly with Nreal, an AR technology company that is a portfolio company of NIO Capital.
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NIO keeps goal of doubling sales this year despite price war causing greater challenges
NIO maintains its previously mentioned goal of doubling sales, despite greater challenges to meet the goal, said William Li.
(William Li (left), founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, and Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of the company, participate in a media group interview. Photo taken by CnEVPost.)
NIO (NYSE: NIO) is confident it will see sales double this year, despite a rare price war that disrupted the Chinese auto industry in the first quarter.
NIO maintains its previously mentioned goal of doubling sales, though the challenge to meet that goal is greater, William Li, the electric vehicle (EV) maker's founder, chairman and CEO, said in an interview in response to questions from CnEVPost.
The price war has had a big impact on the auto industry, and NIO will not follow suit. Instead, it adjusted the benefits offered to consumers, which can be seen as a price increase, Li mentioned in the group interview on April 17 on the eve of the Shanghai auto show.
What NIO really cares about is creating value for users, not simply lowering prices, Li said, adding that companies that start price wars usually don't get the results they want because it leads to damage to the interests of existing vehicle owners and won't win the future.
In the short term, NIO will face some pressure as a result, he said.
NIO delivered a total of 122,486 vehicles in 2022, up 34 percent from 91,429 in 2021. The doubling of sales means that NIO is expected to deliver about 240,000 vehicles this year.
Li said in a March 1 analyst call following NIO's fourth-quarter earnings announcement that the company is aiming to see sales double this year compared to last year.
"Our team is very confident in that," Li said at the time.
In a March 22 interview with Bloomberg TV, NIO CFO Steven Feng said the company is very confident it will meet its sales target in 2023.
NIO delivered 31,041 vehicles in the first quarter, which means it needs to deliver more than 23,000 vehicles each month on average for the rest of the year to meet its full-year goal.
At the time Li mentioned the target on March 1, only a handful of NEV makers had cut prices in China.
However, some internal combustion engine automakers then began offering steep discounts, and a wave of price cuts quickly swept through the industry.
Rather than boosting vehicle sales significantly, the rare price war has led to increased consumer's wait-and-see sentiment.
On March 22, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) called for the hype about this round of price cuts in China's auto industry to cool down as soon as possible, so that the industry can return to normal operation and ensure healthy and stable development throughout the year.
In March, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 543,000 units, up a modest 21.9 percent year-on-year and 23.6 percent from February, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on April 10.
This is lower than the CPCA's preliminary figure of 549,000 units released on April 6, and lower than the 560,000 units it had forecast in its March 25 report.
The price cuts by some NEV companies may have triggered a wait-and-see mood among consumers, the CPCA said at the time.
For the overall passenger car market, retail sales in March were 1.587 million units, up 0.3 percent from a year earlier and up 14.3 percent from February. In the January-March period, retail sales in China's auto industry were 4.261 million units, down 13.4 percent from a year earlier.
Li also said in the interview that the decline in Chinese auto sales in the first quarter reflected a strong consumer wait-and-see sentiment.
He also mentioned that the company maintained its target of achieving profitability for its core NIO brand in the fourth quarter of this year, excluding investment in innovative businesses.
Lithium prices are falling faster than expected, and NIO's costs will fall as future deliveries rise, Li said.
As of April 17, the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate had fallen to RMB 187,500 per ton in China, and the average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate fell to RMB 140,000 per ton, according to data from Mysteel.
NIO ET5 ranks 7th in top-selling premium sedan list in China with 6,437 Mar sales
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