Do You Know About NIO – Tesla’s Competitor in the Electric Car Manufacturing Business? Find Out All About It and More.
When you think electric car, you automatically think TESLA, but that’s changing. Founded in 2014, NIO has gained traction quickly in the world of electric cars. This electric car manufacturer, based in China, is on its way to becoming the most valuable electric car brand in the world. Let’s find out 15 Things You didn’t Know About NIO.
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1
The Who, What, When, Where and Why?
A quick answer of the 5 Ws, Aluxers.
Who founded NIO? It was William Li and was originally called NextEV.
What did he launch? A quad-motor supercar called the EP9.
When did he launch the EP9? November 2016.
Where was it launched? At the Saatchi Gallery in London, UK. It’s headquarters are in Shanghai, China.
Why was it launched? William Li is a business mogul. The Chinese billionaire is worth over $8.1 billion and has co-founded and invested in over 40 companies in the internet and automotive industries. With a passion for cars, Li wanted to break into the enormous Chinese automotive industry.
Let’s find out more about the EP9.
2
Specs and Speeds of the EP9
The NIO EP9 broke several records after its launch. It set a new lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschliefe. Dubbed “Green Hell,” the EP9 lapped the 20.8km in 6m 45.9s, officially beating the previous record and according to businesswire.com, “marking it out as the fastest electric car in the world.”
It also broke the EV record set at Circuit Paul Ricard in France by an incredible 2m 40s.
So, what makes this car so special?
– 4 high-performance inboard motors
– 4 individual gearboxes
– It delivers 1-MegaWatt of power equivalent to 1,360PS.
– It reaches 0-200kph in 7.1 seconds.
– It has top speeds of 313 kph.
According to carthrottle.com – the NIO EP9 will set you back $1.48 million.
NIO has launched 10 models of electric cars so far, and we’ll highlight them later.
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3
How Fast Does the EP9 Charge and What’s the Range?
In case you’re wondering what EP stands for – it’s Experimental Prototype – and this EP charges in 45 minutes. There is another option which will save a lot of time, and we’ll tell you more about that later.
This sport car has a range of 427 km and if you happen to run out of power somewhere, you have access to a rescue van with built-in chargers that will come and rescue you.
4
NIO Is On Cathie Woods Radar
Aluxers, we recently published – 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Cathie Wood – where we highlighted some of her bold predictions. For example, her prediction on Tesla when she said, “We believe that Tesla should be priced in the marketplace today at $2,000. And we believe that’s conservative. Our bull case is a $4,000 price target in five years.”
We mentioned she wasn’t wrong with the price, but the time.
And again, her company were buying and recommending crypto back when Bitcoin was $250. We know how that played out. It just hit a new all-time high above $63,000.
So, what does she say about NIO? In a March interview with Business Insider she said, “I have been very impressed by China’s focus on electric vehicles both from an environmental point of view and a technology point of view.” And she confirmed that NIO is definitely on her radar.
5
Battery Swapping Is Quick, Easy and Cheap
Right, we mentioned that there is an alternative to charging a NIO battery from scratch, and that’s their affordable battery swapping service.
Unlike electric cars where the battery is built-in, NIOs have batteries that can easily be removed and replaced.
According carwow.co.uk, NIO has placed 191 swap stations in 76 cities and by the end of 2021, aim to have 500 stations up and running.
Another advantage of NIO having a removable battery is that they’re giving buyers the opportunity to buy the cars without a battery with the option to rent a battery on a monthly basis.
How does this pricing compare to the Tesla? Let’s find out.
6
Models of NIO and Pricing
If you choose to buy a NIO without a battery, you’ll pay around $10,500 less than full price. You can then rent a battery for roughly $150 a month. If you look at NIOs cheapest car, the ES6 SUV – basically their take on the Tesla Model Y, and you choose this option, it will save you in the region of $7,500.
In total, NIO currently has 10 models which are the EP9, EC6, ES6, ES8, EF9, ES3, ET5, ET7, ET Preview and Eve.
Reuters.com says the starting cost of a NIO is $58,378, without the battery and with the battery pack, $69,000. And then we mentioned the cost of the EP9 at $1.48 million.
7
NIO Produced Their 100,00th Car and What Elon Musk Says About It
Just a week ago, NIO rolled its 100,000th car off the production line. It was a crossover called the ES8. Volume production for NIO only began in 2018 and reached 50,000 vehicles in July of 2020.
So, in less than a year and through Covid, an additional 50,000 vehicles is a job well done.
Elon Musk congratulated NIO in a Tweet by saying, “Congrats to NIO. That is a tough milestone.”
Further increased production could decrease, and here’s why.
If you are an Elon Musk fan and care about what he has to say, don’t forget to check out his book recommendations in 15 Books Elon Musk Thinks Everyone Should Read.
8
Global Chips Shortage Could Hamper Efforts for Increased Production
According to South China Morning Post, or SCMP, the exponential growth that NIO have been experiencing could be hampered due to a global shortage of computer chips.
As they quoted from William Li, “the Beijing-based carmaker may lack the semiconductor stockpile to meet its target of assembling 7,500 electric cars in the second quarter.” He continued, “We still face difficulties in achieving our production goal. The issue (of chip shortage) remains tough in the second quarter, but it will affect our production only in the near term.”
NIO experienced 5 days of zero production because of this, but they weren’t the only ones affected as we’ll highlight shortly.
9
NIO Stocks Have Soared
Howard Smith, writing for fool.com said that NIO stocks are going to offer explosive potential gains.
He points out that EV sales in China surpassed 1 million in 2020, and government hopes to reach 5 million by 2025. Sector research organization BloombergNEF predicts that by 2030 it could reach 10 million and 20 million by 2040.
Smith writes that, “NIO stock is up more than 1,000% since its period of financial struggles a year ago. But its shares are also down by more than 40% from their recent peak.”
He believes that given some time, the stock has potential to advance far beyond its current level of $ 38,90.
Currently, NIO has around 544 institutional investors who own shares in NIO. Some of the biggest investors are Originalwish Ltd. who own 174.5 million shares, Tencent Holdings Ltd. who have 164.2 million shares, Baillie Gifford & Co. have 61.5 million shares of NIO stock and Vanguard Group Inc. with 39.7 million shares.
10
Value of NIO
It took 2 years from the launch of NIO in 2014, to accumulate $1 billion in investments. They went public in 2018, opening at the New York Stock Exchange with Li ringing the bell.
NIO’s shares are publicly traded on US stock markets, and report their financial results to the SEC.
Figures reported on investopaedia.com confirm an increase of sales by 130% in Q4 of 2020, amounting to $946.2 million, of which gross profit was $163.2 million.
Revenue is also generated from charging piles, internet connection services in the vehicle and extended warranties.
NIO’s energy and services package also generate more revenue for the company.
11
Production Ceased In Several Car Manufacturing Sites
NIO wasn’t the only car manufacturer that was affected by the lack of semiconductors. General Motors and Ford Motors closed their North American factories for several weeks. Recently affected are Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.
CNBC.com reported that Covid has led to a $60 billion global chip shortage for the auto industry.
Semiconductor chips are needed for power steering, brakes and infotainment systems.
As reported on the site, “Automakers are scrambling to get supplies of the chips, which have extremely long lead times due to their complexity. The shortage is far down the supply chain, causing a ripple effect through the entire network.”
12
Sales To Begin In Europe
Well, if CEO William Li sees his dreams becoming a reality.
Nio President Lihong Qin spoke to Automotive News Europe, stating that NIO hoped to enter the European market this year. He didn’t confirm which European country they would target first but confirmed that an official announcement would come in about a months’ time.
Despite goals to expand into Europe, competition of EVs in China have increased. There’s Xpeng who are a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer and they’re already exporting to Norway. There’s also Aiways who have sent 1,000 electric vehicles to Israel and Europe this year, according to CNBC.com.
13
Tesla’s China Made Model Y Drops Its Retail Price
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives predicts that China could be key to Tesla’s success, potentially accounting for 400,000 sales in 2022.
Bring in local competition, and how does that affect Tesla?
Tesla is manufacturing its Model Y EV in its Shanghai Gigafactory and began distributing the vehicle earlier in 2021. The retail price was $52,074 for the long-range version, and 57,235 – 30% cheaper than what they originally predicted.
Tesla is also planning to add 1,000 more workers at their Shanghai branch to ramp up production and
It plans to add 1,000 factory workers as it ramps up production in the world’s biggest auto market and they hope to open a design and research centre in China too.
Seems like competition from NIO is shifting things up for Tesla.
14
Buying a NIO Car Gives You More Than Just a Car
It also gives you access to the NIO House. NIO house, according to innovationeverywhere, is “a new showroom concept that revolutionizes the traditional automotive sector by focusing on the customer experience.”
These concept stores aim to build and maintain a brand community and will incorporate several different spaces.
The gallery on the ground floor is accessible to the public where you can see the various models.
The VIP area or Club Zone is located upstairs, along with a Lounge, Forum, Open kitchen, Joy camp and labs. There is a library, cafeteria and children’s playroom.
NIO house is based in Shanghai, and they are hoping to open more as NIO increases its footprint.
15
What Does the Future Hold For NIO?
A whole lot if they continue on the same path, they’re currently on.
Follow them on Twitter and you’ll see headlines like:
“NIO and Sinopec sign strategic partnership agreement and begin operation of #NIOPower Swap Station 2.0 at Chaoying Station in Beijing.”
“Our Power North Plan will deploy various power solutions in 8 provinces and autonomous regions over the next three years.”
“Excited to see new report saying it’s feasible for all of the U.S. to make the shift to 100% #electriccar and truck sales by 2035 – and the impact this will have on the rest of the globe!”
Aluxers, we’ll keep an eye on developments, so you don’t have to.
Question:
Aluxers, would you purchase a NIO electric vehicle and if so, which one would you buy? We’d love to hear from you!
