Although Li Bin, chairman and CEO of NIO, foresaw as early as last year that "the competition in the car circle will become more and more fierce in the future", NIO still maintained its steady pace and did not easily get involved in this melee. While NIO may be able to hold on to its price position, newcomer Ledao has opted to take a more aggressive approach to the market, targeting industry giant Tesla's Model Y.
"Orders for the L60 were pouring in, and our servers had to be expanded fivefold." Li Bin's words revealed the indefinite expectation of the Ledao L60, "It is expected that by October 2024, our sales will reach 5,000 units, and in December will jump to 10,000 units, and in January next year, this number will climb to at least 16,000 units, and by March, we will be expected to break the 20,000 mark." ”
Ledao's high-profile entry will undoubtedly pose a serious challenge to its foothold in the mainstream electric vehicle market. This is not only a test of Ledao's own strength, but also a comprehensive test of whether NIO's system strength can carry out a "dimensionality reduction attack" in the mainstream market. At the same time, for NIO, which is still in the investment period and has not yet achieved profitability, if Ledao can make a significant breakthrough in sales, it will undoubtedly open up a new path to profitability for NIO.
Ledao L60 builds market gravity
On the evening of September 19, Ledao, an emerging sub-brand of NIO, grandly launched its first model, Ledao L60. With its affordable price and excellent performance, this model quickly attracted a lot of attention from the market. The standard range 60 kWh version is priced at CNY 206,900, while the long-range 85 kWh version is priced at CNY 235,900, a starting price of CNY 43,000 lower than Tesla's Model Y.
NIO, a brand that once aimed to benchmark BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi), before the launch of the ET5 series, the price of its models stood firmly above 300,000 yuan. However, the share of the high-end market is limited after all, and for a brand that aspires to sustainable development, how to skillfully use the combination of high-end and low-end models to increase overall sales has undoubtedly become a problem that must be faced.
Looking back at the era of fuel vehicles, many car companies have successfully laid out the high-end and mass markets through multi-brand strategies, such as the golden combination of Toyota and Lexus. Now, NIO is pinning its hopes on Ledao in order to seek new growth points in the fierce market competition. Li Bin is full of expectations for the future of Ledao, and he predicts that next year, Ledao's monthly deliveries will reach a staggering 20,000 vehicles, while maintaining a gross profit margin of more than 15% is also a reasonable goal.
However, consumer needs in the low-to-mid-end market are the most complex and volatile. They are looking for value for money and are eager to get as much configuration and experience as possible within a limited budget. NIO is well aware of this, so at the launch of the Ledao L60, everything from battery technology to intelligent driving, to the utilization of space in the car, and even the configuration of the on-board freezer were all interpreted and displayed in detail. The purpose is clear - it is to tell consumers: "What others have, we have!" ”
From the product level, Ledao L60 is undoubtedly an all-rounder. It performs well in terms of range, handling, intelligence and comfort, which perfectly meets the ardent expectations of Chinese people for high-quality family SUVs. At the same time, in terms of price, Ledao L60 has formed a distinct differentiated positioning with the main brand of NIO, and the product line layout from 200,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan has undoubtedly injected new vitality into NIO's overall market competitiveness.
In the face of the media's inquiries about the competitive situation of the electric vehicle market in the 200,000 yuan range, Li Bin appeared quite confident. He pointed out that in this price range, many excellent electric models have emerged, such as Model Y, which together build a strong market gravitational field with excellent performance and reasonable price. The addition of Ledao L60 will undoubtedly bring new highlights and expectations to this fierce market competition.
Overall sales are expected to exceed the 40,000 mark
"Although the price of the Ledao L60 is 43,000 yuan lower than that of the Tesla Model Y, we are still able to maintain good profit margins." Li Bin said frankly that the Ledao L60 is NIO's first model built in strict accordance with the needs of users in the target market.
During the R&D process, the team thoroughly evaluated the user benefits and returns of each function to ensure that each configuration could closely fit the actual car use scenarios and demand frequency of mainstream family users. This design concept with user needs as the core not only allows Ledao L60 to bring users an excellent driving experience, but also ensures considerable profit space for enterprises, truly achieving a win-win situation for users and enterprises.
"We hope that the L60 can become a strong competitor to the traditional joint venture brand mid-size SUV fuel vehicle." Li Bin said that although there are certain differences between Ledao L60 and Model Y at the product level, from the user's point of view, being able to get a more practical product at a lower price undoubtedly improves the return rate of users.
At the same time, he also expects those fuel vehicle users in the market with a budget of 15-200,000 yuan to experience the new upgrade experience brought by this smart electric vehicle as soon as possible. "That's exactly what the L60 is about."
When talking about the production capacity planning of Ledao L60, Li Bin pointed out that the improvement of automobile production capacity needs a gradual process. At present, NIO's vehicle plant has started a double-shift production mode to ensure a steady increase in production capacity.
The Ledao L60 will be produced at the second plant of Xinqiao NIO, and is expected to reach 5,000 units in October this year, increase to 10,000 units in December, reach at least 16,000 units in January next year, and is expected to achieve the production target of 20,000 units in March next year. Eventually, the plant will produce 10,000 NIO models and 20,000 Ledao models per month.
Ai Tiecheng further added that the preparation of this capacity plan has been in place since 2022 and has been fully communicated with all supply chain partners. He stressed that no matter what color the user chooses, it will not affect the delivery time of the vehicle, and the supply chain team will ensure timely supply.
In the face of the current production and delivery pressure, Li Bin joked in a humorous way: "A good meal is not afraid of being late, please wait patiently." He revealed that NIO's monthly sales have stabilized at around 20,000 units. This means that with the help of Ledao L60, NIO's overall sales are expected to exceed 40,000 units in March next year, ushering in a new milestone.
Make the Ledao car a gravitational model
With the release of the Ledao brand, Li Bin frequently mentioned NIO's grand vision of accelerating the "oil to electricity". In his eyes, "accelerating the process of oil to electricity" is not only a challenge for electric vehicles to the traditional fuel vehicle market, but also a change of the times.
In the face of the current fierce market competition, Li Bin used the marathon as a metaphor to describe the automotive industry as a long and difficult competition. He said frankly that the industry has entered the end of the qualifying round, and the competition is becoming more and more intense.
"As a business, competition is inevitable." Li Bin said. He emphasized that healthy competition should focus on products, services and value creation, rather than malicious comparison. He encourages "volumes" in the industry, but such "volumes" should be above board, aiming to promote the upgrading of products and services, and ultimately benefit users and society.
Therefore, in terms of product planning, the Ledao brand has adopted a steady development strategy. Li Bin revealed that a six/seven-seater mid-to-large SUV will be launched next year, and it is expected to be delivered in the third quarter. He has high hopes for the car, saying it will be a "revolutionary" product that the market can look forward to.
At the same time, Li Bin also clarified the rhythm of Ledao's product launch: "Ledao will not make too many models, basically maintaining one car per year." This steady and pragmatic attitude has undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for the future development of Ledao.
Although cautious in terms of the number of new cars launched, in terms of sales, Li Bin has high hopes for Ledao. He expects that each Ledao model can form a strong gravitational field in its market segment, and become a "gravitational model" like the Model Y, which has sold more than one million worldwide. This expectation not only stems from his confidence in Ledao's product strength, but also from his deep insight into the future development trend of the electric vehicle market.