TapTechNews, Sunday at the beach, about the launch of the new brand '乐道 (ONVO)' by NIO last night. NIO founder Li Bin stated that '乐道' means 'happy family, good home management', and the brand is positioned in the household market.
NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong mentioned that '乐道' will have both synergy and differentiation with the NIO brand. It is expected that NIO's third brand will also enter the market in about a year. Furthermore, NIO's chairman and CEO Li Bin mentioned that the R&D and marketing expenses for '乐道' are included in NIO's overall investment and there are no plans to list it separately. The '乐道 L60' is now available for pre-order starting at 219,900 RMB (approximately $33,860 USD).
Li Bin emphasized that this pre-sale price still has a good profit margin and they will not engage in selling at a loss. Li Bin shared that the company established a multi-brand strategy from the beginning. NIO started with high-end products because there was a window of opportunity in the luxury market for electric vehicles and high-end products support positive research and development. Introducing the '乐道' brand aims to serve more users, expand the user base, and align with the overall vision of NIO. Li Bin highlighted that starting with high-end products was strategic due to slow transformations in the luxury market and the opportunity for innovation and cost-effective research and development.
However, Li Bin stressed that achieving economies of scale in the high-end market alone is insufficient, and there is a need to cater to the mass market as well. Li Bin mentioned, 'Tesla has done well in many aspects, but it is not reasonable for a single brand to cover both high-end and mass markets, as the price range a single brand can cover is limited.'
The president of '乐道' brand, Ai Tiecheng, stated in an interview that the users of '乐道' brand differ from NIO users. The brand focuses on meeting the needs of family users and aims to 'lead from behind'. '乐道' is a brand that dares to innovate and has clear expectations for the coming years. In terms of sales channels, '乐道' will collaborate with many partners but will maintain a direct sales model for management.