According to the latest delivery data released by NIO, under the strategy of stabilizing sales, adjusting structure, and promoting gross profit, NIO sold a total of 20575 new cars in November, exceeding 20000 units for seven consecutive months, a year-on-year increase of 34.36%. In the first 11 months of this year, NIO delivered a total of 190832 new cars, a year-on-year increase of 34.36%. In addition, NIO's new brand, Ledao's first car L60, achieved delivery of over 10000 new cars in 64 days. At the third quarter earnings conference this year, Li Bin revealed that NIO's highest end ET9 has entered the final stage of testing and preparation before mass production and will be delivered in March next year. Meanwhile, NIO products will gradually switch to the new generation platform next year, thus entering a new product cycle.
Grab the share of traditional luxury cars and achieve "high quantity and price"
As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to exceed half, the proportion of Chinese brands is also continuously increasing. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in October of this year, Chinese brand passenger cars sold a total of 1.931 million new cars, accounting for 70.1% of the market share. This is the first time that the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars has exceeded 70%. At the same time, the market share of overseas brands including German, Japanese, and American brands continues to shrink. Behind the rise and fall of high-end new energy brands in China, such as NIO and Huawei's HarmonyOS, are rapidly seizing market share from traditional luxury car brands, including BBA.
It is worth noting that in the last quarter of this year, the "price war" in different segmented markets is still ongoing. In the high-end market, Chinese high-end new energy brands effectively enhance their sales and achieve "high quantity and high price" through product strength advantages. The Wanjie model under Huawei's HarmonyOS Zhixing maintains a terminal selling price of over 400000 yuan and sold over 15000 units in October; NIO has delivered over 20000 vehicles for six consecutive months, surpassing BMW, while maintaining a stable transaction price in the 330000 yuan range.
NIO has always adhered to the strategy of "not focusing on price, but focusing on value" this year. In response to the "price war", NIO adjusted its BaaS policy in March this year and lowered the threshold for car purchases. It is understood that using BaaS to purchase NIO can reduce the car price by 70000 yuan to 128000 yuan, and the battery rental service fee can also be paid with 4 get 1 free. Combined with battery replacement, users do not need to bear the high replacement costs and vehicle price depreciation caused by battery degradation after the power battery is out of warranty, avoiding battery life anxiety. Currently, over 70% of users have chosen the BaaS solution for car purchases.
Through flexible BaaS policy adjustments, NIO ensures the basic stability of its pricing system while also adjusting its promotional efforts in an orderly manner. At NIO's third quarter report conference call this year, NIO founder Li Bin stated that NIO narrowed its promotional spending in October and market demand resumed in November. In the fourth quarter of this year, NIO aims to maintain a vehicle gross profit margin of 15%.
Industry insiders point out that China's high-end new energy vehicles are increasingly favored due to their excellent intelligent experience, technological configuration, and convenient energy replenishment, which is an important reason for attracting potential users of traditional luxury brands. Behind the positive changes in sales, the pattern of terminal channels is also quietly undergoing a transformation. Since the beginning of this year, many traditional luxury brand dealers have "closed down" one after another, and some have "switched" to AITO brand stores or been "acquired" by high-end new energy brands such as NIO. According to incomplete statistics, at least 40 traditional luxury brand dealers, including Porsche, Maserati, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, etc., have transformed into NIO's hard Tina since last year. Not long ago, Audi's largest store in the Asia Pacific region, "Guangzhou Jingxi Audi," became a NIO store.
Goal: Maintain price stability and enhance profitability
In the second-hand market, NIO's strategy of "not focusing on price, focusing on value" has also received positive feedback. Due to the stable price of NIO's new cars, the resale value of used cars has increased. According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, in October, the one-year resale value of NIO ET5T reached 75%, surpassing Tesla Model 3 for four consecutive months and surpassing equivalent fuel powered models such as Mercedes Benz GLC and BMW 3 Series. As a result, the demand for NIO's used car market continues to increase, and data shows that the inventory turnover cycle of NIO's mainstream cooperative car dealers is only 1/2 to 1/3 of the industry.
According to the plan announced by Li Bin during the earnings conference call, NIO will continue to maintain price stability and enhance profitability in the future. According to the plan, the NIO ET9 has entered the final stage of testing and preparation before mass production, and will be delivered in March next year. In addition, NIO products will gradually switch to the new generation platform next year, thus entering a new product cycle. Li Bin said, "In the next two years, we will basically complete the switching and upgrading of all products, and introduce more competitive and cost competitive products into NIO's product portfolio. By 2025, NIO's brand's gross profit margin for vehicles will gradually increase to 20%
It is also reported that NIO's second brand, Ledao, delivered over 10000 units of its first car L60 within 64 days of its launch. According to the plan, the Ledao L60 will achieve a monthly delivery volume of over 10000 units for the first time in December. At present, the offline channels and battery swapping facilities of the Ledao brand are rapidly being established. As of November 30th, the number of LeDao stores has reached 208, covering 63 cities. At the same time, LeDao authorized service centers have reached 306, covering 165 cities across the country. The number of available battery swapping stations in Ledao has reached 764, providing users with a convenient energy replenishment experience.
Text and pictures/Guangzhou Daily Xinhua City Reporter: Deng Li