Photo: Nio
Rumors that Nio would create an affordable brand have been circulating for quite a while. It took Nio’s Q2 2021 earnings call for the company’s founder to confirm they were true. According to William Li, the new brand will be to Nio what Toyota is to Lexus.
It makes perfect sense. Nio established a reputation for luxury cars in China that it does not want to dilute with vehicles that could compete with the Tesla Model 3, for example. Yet, the Chinese carmaker also needs to expand its scale to make its battery swapping tech more popular. The solution will be the yet unnamed affordable EV brand.
Currently, the cheapest Nio vehicle for sale in China is the ES6, which costs RMB358,000 ($55,296 at the current exchange rate). Tesla’s most affordable car in the Chinese market is the Model 3 Standard Range, which costs RMB253,900 ($36,436).
Although Li intends to present a more affordable Nio model next year, it will not be as cheap as the Model 3, hence the need for the subbrand. Codenamed Gemini, this new vehicle would present swappable LFP battery packs. They should be the same ones to be offered to the new affordable brand.
LFP battery packs are what allowed Tesla to offer the Model 3 at lower prices in China. They are also becoming increasingly popular with more affordable vehicles such as the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. BYD based all its new products around it and a structural battery pack called Blade Battery.
A rumor that BYD would sell the Blade Battery to Tesla is still spreading in the news. The Chinese company said it never told the media it would do so, which some outlets took as rumor denying.
However, the way BYD worded everything shows this is not the case. The company just denied talking to the press about the alleged deal. There’s the possibility that Tesla demanded that to make sure BYD was not leaking info to the media.
Whatever happened there, Nio is coming for Tesla, Xpeng, and Li Auto. It just won’t do that with its luxury brand but rather with a new one. We’ll indeed have news about this affordable brand very soon.
Source: CNEVPost
Currently, the cheapest Nio vehicle for sale in China is the ES6, which costs RMB358,000 ($55,296 at the current exchange rate). Tesla’s most affordable car in the Chinese market is the Model 3 Standard Range, which costs RMB253,900 ($36,436).
Although Li intends to present a more affordable Nio model next year, it will not be as cheap as the Model 3, hence the need for the subbrand. Codenamed Gemini, this new vehicle would present swappable LFP battery packs. They should be the same ones to be offered to the new affordable brand.
LFP battery packs are what allowed Tesla to offer the Model 3 at lower prices in China. They are also becoming increasingly popular with more affordable vehicles such as the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. BYD based all its new products around it and a structural battery pack called Blade Battery.
A rumor that BYD would sell the Blade Battery to Tesla is still spreading in the news. The Chinese company said it never told the media it would do so, which some outlets took as rumor denying.
However, the way BYD worded everything shows this is not the case. The company just denied talking to the press about the alleged deal. There’s the possibility that Tesla demanded that to make sure BYD was not leaking info to the media.
Whatever happened there, Nio is coming for Tesla, Xpeng, and Li Auto. It just won’t do that with its luxury brand but rather with a new one. We’ll indeed have news about this affordable brand very soon.
Source: CNEVPost
Google News