In the past three years, we have definitely not achieved our business goals. According to the plan from 2017 to 2018, NIO should reach its current state by 2022, which is two years later than the early plan. "At a recent communication meeting, NIO Chairman and CEO Li Bin said that achieving profitability in 2026 cannot be lost, and will ensure profitability from four aspects: sales growth, gross profit improvement, cost control, and operational efficiency improvement.
It is reported that NIO has sold about 220000 vehicles this year, and its sales target for 2025 will double compared to this year. In order to achieve this sales target, NIO will complete the layout of three brands within this year.
In September of this year, NIO's second brand, Ledao, launched its first product L60, and the monthly delivery volume of the vehicle is expected to reach 10000 units by December; At the end of December, NIO will release its third brand Firefly and its first product. In addition, by the end of 2025, NIO brand will release its flagship sedan ET9 and gradually update its existing product matrix; Ledao brand will release two more mid to large SUV products, scheduled for delivery in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.
In addition to announcing subsequent goals and product plans, Li Bin also responded to questions related to NIO's supplier payment terms.
Li Bin stated that NIO's payment cycle is 90 days after completion of acceptance, which is a common practice in the industry; The increase in accounts payable in NIO's financial report is mainly due to the growth of revenue and sales.
For the overall market, Li Bin believes that the car market will continue to grow in 2025, and the market share of new energy vehicles is expected to reach over 75%, but the price war will not cease.
Now we are in the transition period between oil and electricity, and new entrants need to quickly establish a foothold, which is definitely more aggressive; traditional car companies can only maintain their market share by lowering prices. The tug of war between oil and new energy vehicles will affect the profits of car companies, and this is a very normal stage. "Li Bin said that 2-3 years later, the industry may enter a new period of stable competition, and the overall profitability and ability of the industry will return to basic normalcy, but before that, it will be a very fierce competition stage.
Li Bin believes that by 2024, the top car companies will still be in the stage of accumulating strength. Starting from 2025, the top car companies will accelerate, and the gap between them and second tier car companies will further widen. By 2027 at the latest, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China will exceed 90%; The total number of cars in China is 340 million, and it will eventually peak at 400 million. The opportunities for Chinese car companies in the future will mainly come from trade ins and overseas markets.
In addition to significantly expanding its product lineup in the domestic market, NIO will further expand into overseas markets. Li Bin said that entering 25 overseas regional markets by 2025 is still NIO's plan, but it will focus on the Ledao and Firefly brands as the main force. In addition, unlike its previous layout of full direct sales in Europe, NIO will seek more overseas partners to achieve rapid expansion.
China's new car exports can reach 15 million units, and globally, Chinese car companies can achieve an annual sales volume of approximately 40 million units, accounting for over 40% of the global market share. In this process, the main competitors of Chinese car companies will be Japanese and Korean car companies, "said Li Bin.
In addition, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers issued a statement on December 3 stating that American automotive chip products are no longer reliable and safe. To ensure the security and stability of the automotive industry chain and supply chain, the association recommends that Chinese automotive companies purchase American chips with caution.
NIO has previously released its self-developed laser radar control chip, and its intelligent driving chip has been successfully taped out. The recently released ET9 is expected to use this chip. Meanwhile, NIO is also actively investing in and using domestically produced chips. Li Bin said that the development of chips with high computing power is relatively easy, but some chips with lower prices and low usage have greater challenges.