NYSE-listed premium EV maker NIO to launch mass-market brand as more Chinese motorists go electric

Company posts net loss of 587.2 million yuan for the second quarter, narrowing from a loss of about 1.2 billion yuan a year ago

‘It will not be enough for NIO to bolster profitability in the coming decade if it just focuses on expensive cars’: analyst

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A NIO production facility in Hefei, in China’s Anhui province. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:22pm, 12 Aug 2021Updated: 7:43pm, 13 Aug 2021

Corrected [5:27pm, 13 Aug, 2021]

[5:27pm, 13 Aug, 2021]
This story has been corrected to show that NIO will only launch a mass-market brand next year, not new models under this new marque.

Premium Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company NIO plans to develop low-priced models for the mass market, as the pace of electrification on China’s roads gathers pace.

William Li, the carmaker’s founder and CEO, said a new brand focusing on more affordable models will be launched, but did not disclose any details such as when the first model would hit the market.

“The relationship between Nio and our new mass-market brand will be like that of Audi-Volkswagen and Lexus-Toyota,” Li said at a results briefing on Thursday, adding that a core team tasked with launching the new brand has been assembled.

New York Stock Exchange-listed NIO posted a net loss of 587.2 million yuan (US$90.7 million) for the second quarter ended June 30, narrowing from a loss of about 1.2 billion yuan a year ago.

“Decreasing battery costs and the increasing sales volumes of our cars have created room for us to launch more affordable cars,” Li said. He added that NIO, which would maintain its status as an upmarket EV manufacturer, would also launch a cheaper EV model next year.

NIO’s announcement comes amid expectations that EVs will soon become more common on China’s roads. The China Passenger Car Association, for instance, recently forecast that full-year EV sales could more than double to 2.4 million this year. Earlier, Swiss bank UBS said carmakers will be able to achieve margin parity between traditional cars and EVs by 2025, as the cost of batteries comes down.

Shanghai-based NIO is also viewed as a bellwether start-up with the potential of challenging global leader Tesla. The US carmaker is the runaway leader in the premium EV segment in China.