Tesla is not his inspiration, says William Li (48) with pleasure. When he invited to the German premiere of his car manufacturer Nio in Berlin on Friday evening, the Chinese exuded exactly: Tesla feeling. Loud cheers and resounding applause from the audience are otherwise only known in the car scene when Elon Musk (51) appears.
On Berlin’s Kudamm, right next to the Memorial Church, the hyped brand is opening its first German “Nio House” these days. Others will soon follow in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, and the brand will also be launched in parallel in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. The local e-car mecca, Norway, has been the first Nio market in Europe for around six months.
To start with, Li is bringing three models from China to Europe. The sedans ET7 (from October 16) and ET5 (from March 2023) and the SUV EL7 (from January 2023). EL7? Yes, you read that right. In China, the brand has been selling that car under the name ES7 since this summer – and has thus caught anger from Audi. The Ingolstadt company had sued the new competitor because of the model names ES6 and ES8. The names could be confused with the S6 and the S8, the trademark rights for them lie with Audi, Nio violates intellectual property, so the argument. Audi also wanted to take action against the ES7.
At the last moment, Nio gave in before the market launch in this country. To the “Mirror” said co-founder Lihong Qin: “We don’t want to wait for the outcome of a protracted legal dispute with an uncertain outcome and have therefore renamed our models.” The rights for the ES series in Europe had already been applied for in 2016. However, it was not considered that ES pronounced in German sounds the same as S. It remains to be seen how the judges ultimately judge, but the risk of subsequent embarrassment was apparently too great for those responsible for Nio.
After all, the hype shouldn’t die down any further. Valued at nearly $100 billion in early 2021, there’s not even $25 billion left today. E-car newcomers have generally had a difficult time on the stock market recently, and Nio wants to convince investors that it is the next big thing with battery changing stations, among other things. Customers can not only charge the brand’s cars at charging stations, but also have them exchanged within five minutes, according to the manufacturer. According to Ralph Kranz, head of Germany, the first station in Germany went into operation last week on the A8 in Zusmarshausen.
Nio wants to install more than 20 more “Powerswap Stations” in Europe this year, and by 2023 there will be over 120. The Chinese are hoping to be able to remove a hurdle for electromobility – the long charging times compared to refueling – with the option of quickly changing the battery. In order to shoulder the high costs of setting up the changing stations, each of which probably costs the manufacturer almost half a million euros, Nio is open to partnerships.
Subscriptions at a proud price
On the other hand, the brand does not rely on any partners in sales. This should primarily take place online. The Nio models are for sale in the online shop, but the Chinese rely more heavily on their “Nio Subscription” subscription model. This means that the cars can be canceled on a monthly basis, services such as maintenance, insurance and service are included in monthly installments, and Nio also supplies and installs a wall box for use at home. “Flexibility is the new premium,” Kranz said on stage on Friday evening. But the price is also premium, even more of a luxury: Nio calls just under 1550 euros a month for the flexible subscription to the ET7. However, the longer a subscriber keeps the car, the lower the rate, the manufacturer entices. In terms of price, Nio with the ET7 is in the same sphere as Mercedes with the EQE, which costs 1599 euros per month for a subscription.
Anyone who wants an all-inclusive package, but does not have the option of canceling it monthly, will get lower monthly rates from the outset. For example, Nio charges 1191 euros for a three-year contract for the ET7 with a 75 kWh battery.
In addition to classic car dealerships, Nio also does without a workshop network. The Chinese are opening large service centers in metropolitan regions. In addition, Nio uses a mobile repair fleet. “If our customers can’t come to us, we’ll come to them,” says Ralph Kranz. Even if William Li shies away from the comparison, that strategy also sounds like: Tesla. Elon Musk and Co. also started in Germany with a few showrooms in city locations, a few service centers and a mobile repair service.
In the meantime, however, Tesla has disappeared from the expensive inner-city locations in many places. Instead, the e-car top dog is opening more and more full-function car dealerships with a sales room and workshop in one. Better coverage across the board is primarily intended to increase the quality of service. Maybe Li and Nio will follow suit in a few years. The boss does not reveal sales targets for Germany and Europe. In this case, Li would probably not reject a development similar to Tesla’s.