The Ledo brand, responsible for the growth of NIO's scale, is about to unveil its veil.
On May 15th, Ledo will hold its first brand launch event in Shanghai. According to NIO's description, Ledo is an intelligent electric vehicle brand designed for families. And every year on May 15th, it is the International Day of the Family designated by the United Nations.
"The launch of Le Dao signifies a new stage for NIO from 1 to 10 and from 10 to 100, entering a broader and more mainstream mass market." On May 9th, Li Bin, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, stated at the launch ceremony of NIO's 500000 mass-produced car.
Li Bin once pointed out that "Ledo" comes from "having a happy family and a proper way of managing the household". Ledo, positioned in the mainstream family market, needs a leader who has a deep understanding of the user experience and needs of the family.
At the media conference on May 9th, LeEco President Ai Tiecheng also made his first public appearance, having previously served as Vice President of the Marketing Department of Disney China Resort.
"My job has always been to create happiness for my family, which is my strength, so I came without hesitation," said Ai Tiecheng.
Layout in the mass market
The significance of music to NIO is extraordinary.
"Every car company has a reasonable positioning for its brand, and after a period of solidification, the positioning becomes relatively clear and the target audience is relatively stable. In this situation, launching a new brand, distinguishing products through different brands, and achieving a wider target audience can effectively achieve its own growth." In the view of Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the launch of sub brands by new forces still revolves around the core concept of "having more children and having more fights".
In addition to the consideration of expanding sales on the existing base, the launch of Ledo can effectively help NIO accelerate its entry into the "harvest period". "We are launching new brands not because we are suffering heavy losses, but because all of our investments, including those in intelligence, need to be realized." Li Bin once said that Ledo, positioned in the mainstream market of 200000 to 300000 yuan, will be very efficiency oriented.
On the eve of the decisive battle in the new energy vehicle market, every car company is eager to gain more leverage in terms of scale, and the importance of economies of scale is becoming increasingly prominent. Taking BYD and Ideal Automobile as examples, having sufficiently large sales and crossing the scale gap can accelerate profitability. As the second brand enters the sinking market and the scale effect continues to expand, NIO may have more initiative in the competition.
According to Li Bin, there is a clear distinction between Ledo and NIO, and their "tactics" are also significantly different. NIO's brand will be technologically advanced, focusing mainly on business, taking into account family and individual needs; Ledo brand will focus on the home market, with more affordable prices and a larger market range to adapt to.
It is reported that Ledo will expand into the mass market, with a total of three models. The first model will benchmark against Tesla Model Y, with a monthly sales target of 50000 units.
However, the mainstream market of 200000 to 300000 yuan is already a red ocean, and Tesla, which has long held a dominant position here, has become a competitor to most new car models. Later players such as Jike, Xiaomi, and Zhiji are eyeing this cake, and how will Ledo, which only slowly entered at this time, win?
In Li Bin's view, there are two guiding principles for the definition of Ledo products: whether the whole family is happy and whether the family is responsible. Therefore, the competition of Le Dao cannot be simply called cost-effectiveness, but rather a true balance between experience value and vehicle cost. "From the perspective of Ledao's overall strategy, we dare to serve a wider range of users with mature technology, mature services, and more cost-effective solutions."
Ensure execution without making mistakes
Le Dao is about to enter the right track, and NIO's performance is also stabilizing.
Under the escalating price and traffic wars, new car manufacturers performed differently in April and have shown significant differentiation. The latest data shows that NIO ranks second in the sales ranking of new car manufacturers, with a delivery volume of 15600 vehicles in April, a year-on-year increase of 134.6% and a month on month increase of 31.6%.
While maintaining stable sales, the friend circle of NIO Battery Exchange Alliance continues to expand. A few days ago, NIO and GAC Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement on charging and swapping. Previously, NIO had reached a charging and swapping strategic cooperation with Changan Automobile, Geely Holding Group, Chery Automobile, Jiangqi Group, and Lotus, as well as comprehensive swapping cooperation with energy and power industry enterprises such as Sinopec, CNOOC, Shell, State Grid, Southern Power Grid, Wanneng Group, and Zhongan Energy.
With the entry of star technology companies such as Xiaomi and Huawei into the automotive industry, the automotive ecosystem and marketing strategies are also undergoing changes. Faced with the pressure of traffic, the anxiety of car companies has surfaced, and a restless atmosphere has also emerged. In the present, it is even more necessary to focus. In Li Bin's view, the automotive industry is a long-term industry that needs to be viewed with a long-term mindset, maintained in awe, and should not be complacent due to short-term achievements, nor should it be hit hard by temporary setbacks; At the same time, the automotive industry is not simply a traffic oriented industry, nor is it a single point of technological breakthrough industry. The ultimate winner is definitely a company with comprehensive capabilities and no shortcomings.
Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, pointed out that the most important thing for NIO this year is to execute well and not make mistakes.
In the second half of the year, Ledao's first product is about to be launched and delivered, and it is worth looking forward to what kind of increment and financial performance it will bring to NIO.