NIO founder shares insights on future strategy for US-listed automaker

The founder and CEO of NIO shares insights on future strategy for U.S.-listed automaker.

NIO, the Chinese automaker, has an impressive booth at this year's Beijing Auto Show. Known for their premium smart electric vehicles, the automaker has also embarked on the development of battery-swapping stations as a unique alternative to traditional chargers.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), William Li, the founder and CEO of NIO, gave a contextual explanation why NIO still invests in battery swapping, as plug-in chargers get faster, more efficient and more widely deployed.

He said that NIO has always prioritized the principles of being "rechargeable, replaceable, and upgradeable." As a brand, NIO takes pride in having the highest number of deployed chargers in China. Currently, NIO has 21,000 chargers across the country, all of which are accessible to the public. It's worth noting that a significant 80 percent of the electricity from its chargers has been utilized by users of other brands. But charging cannot be as fast as swapping. There are many advantages of battering swapping, such as better user experience.

Actually it saves money for drivers, also it saves a lot of resources for the society. So charging and swapping are not contradictory. They are suitable for different scenarios, Li continued.

Since last year, NIO has signed battery-swapping agreements with well-known car companies, such as Changan and Geely, as well as state-owned energy and power companies.

"Battery swapping is very suitable for Chinese users because most of China's urban families live in apartments. It's relatively difficult for them to install chargers at home. Their time costs of recharging is high. However, battery-swapping can give them an experience similar to filling up a traditional gas tank. It's very convenient. Now we are building a battery swapping network, and we are very happy that our efforts have been recognized by our industry partners. They are willing to expand this battery-swapping network with us and we are thrilled to get their support. In short, the battery-swapping network is getting better," he said.

In addition, he stressed that the company's revenue growth was faster than that of the entire EV market.

"Our share in the high-end market is still very stable, but it is undeniable that we invested a relatively large amount in research and development last year - 13.4 billion yuan (about 1.89 billion U.S. dollars). We also invested a lot in infrastructure. In 2023, we built more than 1,000 battery-swapping stations. With all these investments, plus the fierce competition in the market, there was still a gap between our gross profit and our expectations. We faced a loss. However, with the gradual release of our new products and the steady improvement of our gross profit margin, we believe that the loss will definitely narrow in the long run. We do have a very clear goal of making profit. We have a very clear route for that," he said.

NIO founder shares insights on future strategy for US-listed automaker

The project of building the largest manufacturing factory of a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker in Hungary marks a crucial step for the electrification of Hungary, said a manager of the company.

Hungary aims to become a center for the production of electric vehicles in Europe. This has opened up opportunities for overseas companies to build production facilities for the European market.

Two years ago, CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturing company, began building its super-factory in eastern Hungary. Upon completion, the factory, the CATL's second overseas factory after the one in Germany, will be the biggest manufacturing facility of the company in Europe.

Located in Debrecen in East Hungary, the 100-gigawatt-hours battery plant is an investment of more than 7 billion euros. It is not far from the auto plants of brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen, showcasing Hungary's ambition of becoming a manufacturing hub of European electric vehicles.

The construction is expected to finish in 2025, and soon thereafter, the production will start.

"This is going to be built in three phases. The construction behind us is the first phase that is currently being built. Actually, we arrived at the structure-building phase by the end of last September, and we are actually now building the roof and facade of the first building, in which the battery cells and modules will be produced from 2025," said Sidlo Noemi, spokesperson of CATL Hungary.

With steadily enhanced bilateral ties between China and Hungary, more Chinese companies have come to invest in the market. BYD, another Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, has also announced its plan to invest and build a factory in Hungary, bringing along automated production and advanced technology.

"I think this is a very important step in the life of our country. The government has moved the economic relations and economic processes to invest into the industry of the future, so the electrification," said the spokesperson.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary on Wednesday following his visits to France and Serbia during his three-nation European tour. Sidlo said the visit is welcomed by the business community.

"Hungary and China have been having a very deep and long-term good relationship, also, economic and diplomatic relationship. The president of China is welcomed in Hungary. Thanks to the One Belt and One Road Initiative, I think this visit is very important for Hungary and also for the business community," she said.

President Xi said during his talks with Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok on Thursday that Hungary is one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the traditional friendship between the two countries has a long history. No matter how the international situation changes, China-Hungary relations have always developed, and it will thrive through the Belt and Road Initiative partnership and investments by companies of both countries, he said.

CATL's largest investment important step for Hungary's electrification