NIO President Qin Lihong on Industry Issues
On June 14, according to TapTechNews, at the 16th China Automobile Blue Book Forum held today, Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, attended and delivered a speech. He believes that sales volume is the result, not the goal. "If you get all aspects such as products, services, communities, and operations in place, the result will be there," and "enterprises are like candidates in the exam, worrying about the test scores day and night. It is better to review. Our auto companies should also focus on down-to-earth work."
He also mentioned that in the tide of electrification, the issue of battery life has become extremely urgent, just like society has to face the problem of an aging population, and it is necessary to plan ahead. From January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2032, theoretically, about 20 million automotive power batteries will be out of the warranty period. If all these batteries are replaced once, it will cost 1.6 trillion yuan at an average of 80,000 yuan each.
He called on that the battery issue is definitely not something that NIO or any auto company can solve alone. He hopes that more peers such as Dongfeng, BAIC, and Huawei Harmo nyOS Intelligent Mobility can join the battery swapping camp to build a more reassuring and beautiful whole-journey car usage experience and benefit the vast number of consumers. Long-life batteries are the most important physical basis for solving the problem of battery life, and also the most important physical basis of our NIO's unique and innovative business model called Battery Rental Service. In fact, the Battery Rental Service is equivalent to taking the issue of battery life from individual users to NIO's hands. Users don't need to worry about it because you don't own this battery. This is NIO's business. When the battery life cycle is up, we will replace it with a new battery. Users just use it. This is the ultimate solution.
Regarding the issue of tariffs imposed by the European Union, Qin Lihong said: China is leading the high-level competitive landscape of the global new energy vehicle, and we are in the center of the storm. The tariff issue may be politicized, but it also reflects the phenomenon that the tables have turned, because tariffs are both used as weapons and reflect the relatively backward situation in other places. If we add up all the electric vehicle sales plans that everyone has announced, China's production capacity is not enough, and Europe's is even more insufficient. There is no need to change the strategy, but indeed the rhythm and specific practices need to be adjusted. I think we still have to go back to the principle of protracted war, make more long-term plans, and focus on the broader market in other parts of the world, seriously serve our existing users, and do the daily basic work well, waiting for new changes in this environment.
Referring to TapTechNews' previous reports, regarding the move of the European Commission to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, NIO said: Strongly oppose using the way of increasing tariffs to stop the normal trade of global electric vehicles. This is a hindrance rather than a promotion for global environmental protection, carbon emissions reduction, and sustainable development.