Li Bin, CEO of NIO (Chinese name:蔚来), said to the media that the company plans to maintain its current prices and will not slash prices like Tesla. The company will focus on improving user services such as battery swapping facilities and charging station construction.
In the first quarter of 2023, NIO's competitor, Tesla, implemented a price lowering strategy in both the Chinese and American markets. Traditional fuel vehicle companies also joined the price war, causing a significant impact on the growth of electric vehicles. Analysis by BT Finance experts indicated that the EV market's price war has now spread to the European market, which is a significant disadvantage for NIO since it lacks a manufacturing center in Europe.
In Chinese market, NIO's deliveries in the first quarter have increased, with monthly deliveries returning to over 10,000 vehicles, ranking second among new energy vehicle manufacturers in China. With COVID-19 control measures removed in China, the high-end electric vehicle market is thriving, where NIO has many advantages. In 2022, Li Bin stated that he predicts that NIO's sales will surpass Lexus in 2023. The first quarter's performance of NIO affirmed this conjecture.
However, NIO has faced consistent losses that have expanded into 2022. The financial report indicated that NIO's revenue in 2022 was CNY 49.27 billion, with a net loss of CNY 14.44 billion, increasing 25.4% compared to the year before, and the loss has continued for two consecutive years. Li Bin stated during the meeting that NIO hopes to achieve a comprehensive profit in 2024 with a break-even point in the fourth quarter of 2023. NIO has announced a reduction in the number of free monthly battery replacement services and will begin charging for its assisted driving system.
Regarding the views of the American market, Li Bin thought that the challenges would only grow harder in the future. Geopolitical influences have prompted NIO to seek expansion into the European market, but the results have been disappointing. Taking Germany as an example, in March 2023, there were 44,125 pure electric cars and 84,029 hybrid cars registered on the entire German market , while NIO only has 122 vehicles.